This week, Channing Tatum sat down and talked with Cosmopolitan Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles, a conversation that was broadcast via Facebook Live from The Girls’ Lounge in Cannes. During the audience Q&A segment, the Stanford rape case came up in the context of a larger question regarding what can be done to end the culture of sexual violence. Tatum addressed the topic at large (“Rape culture is a very real thingâ€), and took the opportunity to make his feelings clear about Brock Turner’s 6-month prison sentence.
“This is like if you killed someone, if you got caught red-handed murdering someone, and then just because you went to a nice school and you were a good swimmer, you somehow get a lesser sentence than what you would’ve for cold-blooded murder,†Tatum said. “I mean, that doesn’t make any sense.â€
In the same line of thought, Tatum said, “I really think it’s a horrible, horrible idea to let someone off because of possibly what they’re gonna be capable of doing. Because if you start doing that, where do you end? Where does that stop? Where does that line actually quit? I don’t think it’s right. I think he should’ve been punished, personally.â€
Tatum went on to talk about the importance of consent education.
“I think we need to use education and we have to be comfortable talking about [sex]. Look I’m uncomfortable talking about it and I’m saying we should be comfortable talking about it. But it is, it’s an awkward thing to talk about, it’s an awkward thing to talk about especially probably with your kids. So how do we do that better? How do we actually come up with a plan to be able to communicate about sex and what do we need from each other and what are the lines and how do you even know where the lines are if you’re not strong enough to say OK I’m not comfortable with this anymore… People want from both directions and the only way to get to what you want is communication.â€