“My intention was ... just go to therapy. There’s no hidden agenda or ulterior motive,” explained Shabree Rawls in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
After “The Rise of Lonely, Single Men” was published by Psychology Today, Rawls, a professional therapist, took to TikTok to share her thoughts. She never imagined the video would lead to her being fired. After all, she was only suggesting that men in general could benefit from going to therapy.
But in less than 48 hours, Rawls attacked from all corners of the internet, And after a viral article on The Moguldom Nation — “Black America Responds to Therapist Who Scolds Black Men For Not Going to Therapy” — she was fired.
“I cannot fake it to you, I’ve sobbed about this,” she said “It hurt a lot ... it seemed like a lot of decisions were made at my expense and that happens to a lot of black women.”
Rawls prides herself on serving the black community and trying to help break generational curses, traumas and other issues. She has always had a blunt demeanor and tries to be candid with her clients, many of them Black men and women.
“For my first love, which is the black man, to attack me — it just felt like I experienced whiplash from both sides. As a black woman I hold them close to my heart. It’s who we are,” Rawls recounted. “To be attacked by black men hurt even worse. I’ve dedicated my life to healing our community, but at the same time I’m being attacked by the same faces.”
As for her being fired, Rawls walked through the timeline of events in another TikTok video.
“My initial supervisor sent me an email about someone sending her video from the U.K.” she said.
That’s when Rawls discovered that her personal information had been circulating online, including her full name and her place of work. Then the calls started pouring in. She says her employer knew about her social media content, but that they wanted to let her go because of the backlash.
Since then, a wide array of articles — from PopSugar’s “Men Can’t Keep Up With Women’s Highs Dating Standards, This Couple’s Therapist Says,” to Vox’s “Men have fewer friends than ever, and it’s harming their health” — all seemingly confirming the point Rawls was trying to make. In the aftermath of her firing, other outlets — and many on social media — came to her defense.
While Rawls is taking some time off to heal, she’s using this opportunity to create more content. Despite — or because of — the controversy, her followers have “tripled” and it’s lead her to a realization.
“A podcast is coming. I realize that maybe I’m not supposed to heal just one-on-one, I’m supposed to heal to a bigger crowd.” Rawls told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
While her fanbase continues to grow, she prides herself on creating content that’s blunt, honest, raw and real.
“My content is not easy and palatable because healing is not easy and palatable —it’s difficult,” Rawls said “All of my content is surrounded around self love and recovery from abuse — specifically narcissistic abuse.”
