Channing Tatum was at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last week to promote his latest venture—a vodka brand called Born and Bred—and ended up having an illuminating conversation with Cosmopolitan Editor-in-Chief, Joanna Coles.
They talked about raising kids, the role of sex in a long-term marriage, and the new Magic Mike Las Vegas live show Channing is directing—and it was all very Cosmo. But this interview was also being conducted in front of a live audience, and when the Q&A portion came around, one woman asked Tatum what he thought, as a father and a role model, about the evolving place of women in society. And rather surprisingly, he went straight into the problem of how women are exploited in real life and online.
“I think rape culture is a very real thing,” said Tatum. “A lot of porn that I see looks like rape, and there’s an issue.”
And then he addressed the recent Stanford sexual assault case.
“That specific situation, I really think it’s a horrible idea to let someone off because of what they are going to be capable of,” Tatum said, referring to the light sentence issued by judge Aaron Persky after Brock Turner was convicted on all three sexual assault counts he faced. “Because if you starting doing that where does it end? Where does that stop? I don’t think it’s right. I think he should have been punished more, personally.”
Then Channing went on to equate the severity of rape with murder, telling Coles, “I just couldn’t believe it. It would be like if you killed someone. If you got caught, red-handed, murdering someone, and just because you went to a nice school and you were a good swimmer you somehow get a lesser sentence than you would have for cold-blooded murder. I mean that doesn’t make any sense. Why is it a line just because it was rape? Just because it was sex with someone—you didn’t kill her—I don’t know why they wouldn’t equate that the same.”
So there you have it. Channing Tatum: Internet’s boyfriend, entrepreneur, incredible dancer, and friend to women everywhere. (And remember, this comes just a few weeks after the actor/dancer/gift from Heaven sat down for extremely heartwarming interview with autistic blogger Carly Fleischmann; watch it and cry.)
Coles remarked during the interview that there was so much estrogen around them every woman in attendance was likely to leave the event pregnant. And you know what? Channing Tatum would probably take responsibility for all of them, because Channing Tatum is just that kind of guy.
