This One Quote From Blac Chyna Is Powerful

On Tuesday, Blac Chyna successfully obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO) against her ex-fiancé Rob Kardashian, in which he was ordered by a California court to remain at least 100 yards away from Chyna at all times. Court documents allege additional disturbing circumstances surrounding Chyna's request for the TRO, beyond the social media revenge porn tirade Kardashian aimed at Chyna late last week. Appearing on Good Morning America Tuesday, Blac Chyna made an incredibly important statement about abuse, beyond what may be defined as alleged "abuse" within California law. Kardashian's attorney hasn't responded to Romper's request for comment regarding the allegations of revenge porn or Chyna's allegations of previous abuse. Kardashian has not been charged with any crime.

"This is a person I trusted," Chyna told GMA's Linsey Davis. "I just felt... betrayed." While California does have a "revenge porn" law on the books criminalizing the very kinds of online shaming and abuse Kardashian allegedly carried out, there's something to be said about Kardashian's abuse of Chyna's trust — and his daughter's. No matter how public their breakup has become, the two share a child together — 6-month-old Dream Renée Kardashian. When Dream grows up and is old enough to use whatever Google becomes in 10 years, remnants of her parents' split will still remain on the internet.

As in so many leaks of nude photos — celebrity or otherwise — concern trolls are quick to blame the victims. "If they didn't want such racy pictures of themselves to get out, they shouldn't have taken them," is the most common argument. This misplaced blame only normalizes the actions of those who post such photos. This isn't relationship drama — it's a form of alleged domestic abuse.

It doesn't matter that Chyna and Kardashian had their own reality show. It doesn't matter what either of them do for a living, or the level of their celebrity status. What does matter is that there is an innate level trust that exists between intimate partners and any sensitive information they share between each other. Kardashian abused Chyna's trust that those photos would remain private between them — and the posting of those photos and the manipulation he attempted should be called a form of alleged domestic abuse, like Chyna's lawyer has said.

Kardashian didn't have the right to show those photos to anyone else, let alone the millions of people who saw them online before they were removed. Even if Kardashian just passed around the photos among his friends, it would still be a form of deliberate, manipulative emotional abuse. And yes, domestic abuse doesn't always leave bruises — the internal scars of emotional abuse can last far longer than any physical trauma.

Just because Kardashian and Chyna both happen to have celebrity status, it doesn't make what Kardashian did to Chyna an exception to the norm. Even though the sensitive information in this particular scenario is explicit nude photos, that doesn't lay the mantel of blame on Chyna for having posed for them: Kardashian is completely in the wrong for ever sharing those photos without her consent. It's her body, of which she is deserving to share or expose on her terms — not his. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, "humiliating" someone in any way is considered emotional abuse — and, as Chyna's quote so painfully alleges, Kardashian did just that.