Ashanti posts for Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Ashanti shared photos of her sister, Shia Douglas, a survivor of domestic abuse, in an Instagram post. Credit: Getty Images / Leon Bennett
At the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, multiplatinum singer and Glen Cove native Ashanti is standing by her younger sister, wellness-brand founder Kenashia "Shia" Douglas, who on Sunday posted images of her battered self from the physical abuse she had revealed two years earlier.
"Words will never be able to express the amount of pain, fury and disgust I feel reliving these moments … but at the same time I am so proud of how strong, courageous, resilient and unbreakable you are. My sister is a warrior!" wrote Ashanti, 41, on Instagram Wednesday, reposting Shia Douglas' eight Instagram photos and videos depicting graphic and at times bloody images.
"I love you deep and infinitely," added the Grammy Award winner, whose songs include the 2002 no. 1 hit "Foolish." "Thank you for being so brave and bringing awareness to this evil, vile and sad behavior that so many women face every day. You did it! You won! Some women feel so scared that they have no way out … by sharing your story you bring hope, strength & continue to raise awareness for Domestic Violence."
In April 2020, the now 33-year-old Shia Douglas, founder of the holistic-healing brand Wife of Creation, posted a 2½-minute inspirational video on Instagram. At the 01:06 mark, it shows sonogram images of a fetus, followed by a moment from her 2016 engagement to Windsor "Winslow" Lubin aka Slow aka Slowbucks. Those were followed by more pregnancy images and by images of Douglas with a black eye and with a bloodied mouth and chipped teeth.
Douglas, who has no children, has never specified the precise nature of the pregnancy's end, and has never revealed the abuser by name.
On Sunday, alongside her pictures of domestic abuse, Shia Douglas wrote on Instagram, "This was 11.27.2018[.It] changed my perspective on life and changed my whole entire life forever. … My 8,9 teeth [central incisors upper right and upper left, respectively] were broken in our last fight[;] those 2 teeth are directly connected to the womb. Even while I was pregnant my ex use to say 'that's why you can't even have kids[.]' I promise you! I will and they will be beautiful and nothing like you or what you come from!"
On her own Instagram on Wednesday, Ashanti concluded her post by telling her sister, "You will get back EVERYTHING YOU DESERVE!!! The universe always wins! So continue to hold your head high as the sun. I'm so excited for this next chapter of your life. [Wife of Creation] is only the beginning! I'm here by your side always and forever with whatever against whoever! Loving you infinitely."
In the comments section, Shia Douglas thanked her sister, while Hempstead-born actor-rapper Clifford "Method Man" Smith agreed that, "She won!"
Later Wednesday afternoon on Instagram Stories, where posts cycle out after 24 hours, Shia Douglas posted a quote from psychologist and author Dr. Nicole LePera warning abused partners that, "Sometimes 'keeping the peace' means: enabling abuse."
