Amber Rose's Slutwalk Was A Star-Studded Affair

Amber Rose's annual Slutwalk took place on Saturday, Oct. 1 in Los Angeles, and, like last year's event, it made headlines for its famous attendees and empowering message. Although in 2015, Rose claimed that some stars were unwilling to attend without compensation, many celebs attended Slutwalk this year to show their support. Most notably present were Rose's friend and reality TV star Blac Chyna, as well as Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett, Angel Brinks, Joanne the Scammer, and Perez Hilton. These celebs marched in solidarity and supported Rose's message of empowerment, presenting a sign of mainstream acceptance in the face of criticism from other celebrities, a few media outlets, and the protesters who countered the attendees' messages of consent and acceptance with signs reading things like "repent or perish" and "God hates U just the way U are."

Undeterred by the protesters, the event drew thousands of people to march through downtown LA, many of them wearing lingerie in accordance with the message that what a woman chooses to wear does not mean she is "asking for it," nor does any amount of sexual activity degrade a woman's worth. It's the second time Rose has hosted the walk, and the 2016 event was bigger than last year's, with sponsors including Budweiser and Beats by Dre.

Rose has taken up many causes over the course of her career, but this appears to be the one she feels most passionately about. She showed up to the VMAs in a bodysuit covered in the slurs that have been used against her, and she starred in a Funny or Die video calling out the concept of a "walk of shame." She has been the victim of slut shaming at the hands of ex boyfriends Kanye West — who said he had to take 30 showers after they broke up — and Wiz Khalifa, who rudely referenced Rose in a song by rapping "fell in love with a stripper...fell out of love quicker." In her speech at 2015's slutwalk, Rose broke down crying when discussing what these men she once loved had said about her in public, and she offered them her forgiveness.

Last year, Rose called out the female celebrities who didn't attend her slutwalk, especially those who allegedly asked for thousands of dollars to perform, but this year, she had lots of support. Rapper French Montana, for instance, didn't show up himself, but he did ask his fans on Snapchat to show up and give Rose their encouragement.

Rose has always stood for empowerment, especially when it comes to taking down the idea that the way women dress reflects how respectable or worthwhile they are. This was evidenced by reality TV personality Benzino's diss of Rose on Saturday. He posted his gratitude that his 19-year-old daughter wasn't participating in Rose's walk, ignoring the fact that the event is meant to help women of all walks of life combat verbal and physical abuse. Rose responded in an Instagram caption that said:

One day someone will call ur daughter a slut, hoe, whore ect for no reason at all besides the fact that she's beautiful, confident, possibly if she wears something sexy and or God forbid gets sexually assaulted (Victim blamed) Please educate yourself on what the movement is before you speak so ignorantly.

There are still many misconceptions about women, worth, and sex, and it's a problematic area of public discourse that needs to be improved. It's important for celebrities like Rose — who carried a sign reading "f**k fame. Start movements" during the walk — to support causes like this. The 2016 event drew thousands of people and raised $22K for different organizations, which is truly amazing. Hopefully, even more celebs will attend next year and raise even more money.