I am pretty sure, we’ll be talking about this once the book is out, but I read this evening that the accuser in the Duke case is releasing a book.
In a press release, Crystal Mangum’s manager has announced plans to release a tell-all memoir entitled “The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story.”
According to the book’s co-author Vincent Clark, the book will be released in October.
“It is “the only definitive account of the life and struggles of the woman at the center of the Duke Lacrosse case, the alleged accuser,” said Clark in a press release. ” Were it not for the Duke Lacrosse Case, she likely would be described as a bright, young woman from Durham, North Carolina, who has had a difficult life.” abc11.com
There is also a video of the story. Needless to say there are plenty of strong opinions about this latest development.
Attorney Responds- Medical Records Will Now be Unsealed- Add Her to Lawsuit.
One of the lacrosse players’ defense attorneys responds to the press release on video.He says the reason they did not pursue criminal charges against her was because based on her medical records, they believed she was basically mentally ill. He makes it clear that she won’t make a dime off of the book and says that if he was handling the civil case, she would be added to the current lawsuit. In addition, her medical records, which are currently under seal, will be released.
My Take
My take? Her advisers are idiots. Ed Clark her “publisher” calls the book a catharsis. Now the co-writer is named “Vincent Clark”. Something ain’t right about thisahere situation. They sound none too bright in the telephone interviews and yes, the critics are right, the press release her advisers sent out is bad.
Irrespective of where you fell during the case. IF, she manages to make any money from the book, she will likely never see a dime and I wonder if her “publisher” and “co-writer” have explained this to her. Or did they explain that if it is graduate school tuition that she is seeking, she probably had a much better chance at paying for grad school without Vincent and Ed Clark.
This is a free country, you have a right to be heard and no one should be silenced, I just question the wisdom of these current developments. She will NEVER make money off of this story and if her handlers had a lick of sense, they would know that the player’s families are going to join her to their civil lawsuit and there are no “shield” statutes that I am aware of in civil trials. If she does not have money for grad school, she doesn’t have the money to pay for a defense attorney and she will need one, because trust that the City of Durham, Duke University and any other defendants to the civil suits are going to go after her as well as the players’ attorneys. Who are Ed and Vincent Clark? You Durham folks hit up the GMAIL Because I want to know more about thisahere situation.
The response from many blogs has been universally negative ( to say the least).
From LaShawn Barber’s Corner:
Disgraced Crystal Mangum, the former stripper and prostitute who accused three Duke University lacrosse players of strangling, beating, and brutally raping her (vaginally, anally, and orally) in a tiny bathroom at a house party back in March 2006, is writing her memoirs. Not an Internet rumor. It’s true!
…unless it contains a big, fat apology to Reade Seligman, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans….When I first heard about this accusation, I knew it was a straight-up lie. No way did those guys rape that drunk/high stripper. No way. How did I know? I just knew. Call it gut instinct. Lashawn Barber
Democrat=Socialist named her the “Dirtbag of the Day”:
The publisher is probably an even bigger dirtbag. Let’s see, become a stripper, accuse three crackers of rape, get away “scott free” and then write a book about it. Great! Democrat=Socialist blog
Comment From Durham Wonderland
The stupidity of people. They get a pass because of their race and dont get prosecuted or sued because people know they cant get anything or those in power who need minority or Democratic support arent about to speak out and put her in jail. Instead of fading away she writes a book. Now she will be sued and made to look worse then she does. Who is advising this whore? The NAACP? The stupidest organization in the world. Comment From Durham Wonderland
Your thoughts?
14 comments ↓
Yet another sad example of this wonderfully opportunistic society.
It sounds like she’s being exploited (yet again) by her publisher and co-writer (I use the terms loosely). It’s a sad chapter in a sad story.
Hopefully it all goes away.
The book is a bad idea for obvious reasons, but I’m absolutely seeing red over the misogynistic insults that people are throwing at her. When you write about rape, as I regularly do, you see “but Duke!” and “whore!” come up so much . . . and it’s infuriating. The fact that we’re about to go through another very loud round of that crap rather than just isolated comments here and there is really depressing.
LaShawn, “just knew it was a lie”? Wow. Now, I’ll be the first to chide the skrippa for lying and I’m also not going to confer victimhood to her. I think she is engaging in self-exploitation without much assistance from her publicists.
LaShawn’s particular statement is deeply troubling though and highlights one of the reasons many sex workers, escorts, strippers, hell… women and girls in general do not report rape.
I mean I knew LaShawn was an idiot, but a self-hating female mysoginist?
I have seen it all.
You have two separate issues. First you have the prudence of moving forward with a book. The book in no way benefits anyone other than her promoters. they are getting name recognition and the satisfaction of seeing their names in print.
The second issue is how people are taking this one case to extrapolate and use it as evidence of some vast conspiracy to incarcerate scores of falsely accused men.
Blkseagoat,
I don’t think Lashawn is an idiot.
but yes, the “gut instinct” statement is troubling.
Crystal Mangum, I laugh at you. She and Nifong ought to be wedded. Let Michael Vick be the best man and Tawana Brawley can serve as the maid of honor. Rev. Al Sharpton can preside while Jesse Jackson’s love child can serve as the ring bearer. Oh yeah, let Malik Zulu Shabazz drive the limo that takes them to the airport for their honeymoon in Jamaica….. Queens.
This is definitely exploitation of the young woman. How sad… it’s stories like these that will make women less likely to report rape.
Well WOW!
Now, maybe the good rev. who ran to her defense will pay for an attorney as well as, her graduate tuition. Didn’t he say that his organization was going to pay for her to attend law school?
WELL WOW !
Al, does it matter that she “might” be mentally disturbed and being exploited ? That’s not a judgement, just curious.
BTW Jesse’s love child is a girl so she would be flower girl, nt ring bearer.
LaShawn’s “gut instinct” is in reality her personal disdain for black people and her adoration for white people which results in her not seeing most blacks as credible while seeing most whites as quite credible.
Remember that LaShawn is a black women who has expressed the belief that whites are innately smarter than blacks.
gem, I can almost understand a mental illness but I have to weigh the surrounding factors. If those kids at Duke weren’t wealthy, which afforded them halfway decent legal defense, we might be looking at the possibility of innocent people having their lives ruined. I am of the opinion that I have to choose a side in this case. Do I side with innocents who have had to expend a great number of resources prove their innocence? Or do I side with someone who, as a result of mental illness, initiated a national uproar that played on cliche of powerful whites victimizing black people in the same way that a white woman set the Scottboro Boys incident in motion?
If I am going to dig deep into this then I want to know what Mangum’s upbringing was like. Was she the result of the very family dysfunction that plagues many of our low income communities? If I do that, then I must also remain mindful of examples in which white women, and vigilante whites, exacted their twisted form of justice on black men wrongfully accused of raping them. For me, this issue is inseperable.
These are just a few random thoughts. Please forgive, I am still coping with the fact that Bobby Caldwell is a white man (the guy who sings “What You Won’t Do For Love).
Bobby Caldwell is white? Say what!
La Belle Femme, your comment is so uninformed when you say “it’s stories like these that will make women less likely to report rape.” First of all, she herself says she was not raped. Second of all, I believe the rest of us know that reporting rape is the only way to punish these despicable men.