Content Warning: This story contains content regarding sexual violence.
Cindy Smock, better known as Sister Cindy, is an American evangelist who practices preaching on college campuses and has racked a TikTok following of over 364,000 followers. She and her husband Jed Smock, or Brother Jed, unfortunately welcomed MU students to their “slut-shaming show” in Speakers Circle on Oct. 15. Although many students at MU disagree with her viewpoints, the couple was met with roars of applause.
I attended the “slut-shaming show.” While Smock’s preaching slowly became a broken record of invalidating women and condemning people to hell, Smock told me that “everybody who isn’t Christian is going to hell.” I explained to her that I am Jewish, while some of my family is Buddhist. Smock told me, “You are going to hell with them.” I left shortly after that.
Many people claim to support those who are discriminated against, whether it’s because of race, sex, or religion. Some even go as far as cutting ties with those who don’t agree with their views. So what makes this evangelist couple so different? What makes them exempt from intolerance?
Most students see them as mere entertainment, even when their so-called “preaching” is nicknamed a “slut-shaming show” claiming that, “If you aren’t Christian, you’re going to hell.”
Sister Cindy and Brother Jed have been preaching since the 1980s, and the message tends to surround sexual topics such as Christian morality, sinful behavior and slogans such as “Hoe No Mo.”
But when does mere entertainment cross the line? When is Cindy Smock not seen as a joke?
When going into detail about how thankful she is for men, Sister Cindy was met with roars of questions surrounding rape on campus. In response, she asked, “There’s a rape problem on campus?”
“Men have self-control,” Smock said. “Men, be careful. These women can be very aggressive. Real men stay away from the hoes. If you have been raped, yes, you are a victim, but playing the victim will get you nowhere in life. And some of you will go on and call yourselves ‘survivors,’ but survivors go nowhere in life either.”
After that, the line was crossed. In response to the uproar of negative comments from the crowd, Smock only seemed to be worried about her social media page on TikTok, sarcastically claiming she was disappointed that she might lose 10,000 followers. The crowd cheered, “Real men don’t rape,” while Smock jumped with laughter.
“Most people are here to make fun of her,” freshman Sydney Ritter said. “The rate for rapes here is so high, it’s higher than the national average at this point, and she’s literally making it as a joke for her TikTok. It’s a real thing that people are struggling with right now, and she said that survivors don’t get anywhere in life. That is not true; survivors are just at strong as anyone else.”
Sister Cindy, not even minutes after those horrific claims, went right back to being a laughingstock. Many students seemed to disregard what she had just said, some to the point where they believed she was only on MU’s campus to provide entertainment. The crowd was so stunned with her anti-sex, pro-Christian rallying that it almost didn’t seem real.
“We’re all here because we know she’s pretty wrong,” sophomore Thao Thach said. “I think she knew that we were stressed out by midterms and she came to entertain us. I feel like she knows in some way that there are a lot of people here just because they think she’s funny.”
Sister Cindy and Brother Jed are unfortunately not a joke. They may seem like entertainment, but they are serious in what they preach. Some students who attended the “slut-shaming show” left with comedic relief. But some left feeling invalidated on a campus that is supposed to protect their students.
I was one of those who felt invalidated. The crowd cheered for Sister Cindy and Brother Jed, even when they told students they are sluts, going to hell and going nowhere in life. It almost felt like a fever dream: Those who promoted civil rights and activism were cheering for the couple whose entire lives have been devoted to spreading hate speech. Hearing Sister Cindy and Brother Jed’s was sickening, invalidating and perplexing to me as to why people see them as different. What makes them the exception to chastising hate?
If you are one of those who felt invalidated, use your resources. Talk to friends and even family members. Some resources at MU are MU’s Counseling Center, the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center, the Women’s Center, or the LGBTQ Center.
Edited by Cayli Yanagida | cyanagida@themaneater.com
