A few weeks ago, a woman, Roda Osman (better known by her alias Ro Bashe), shared videos of herself seriously injured after reportedly being hit with a brick in the head by a man after refusing to give him her number. Now, Osman is speaking out about the terrifying incident and its life-altering effect on her life.
According to Bossip, the clip shows Osman accusing a group of Black men of neglecting to take action after the assault.
“Y’all this man just hit me in the face with a brick, and all these Black men just watched, and they don’t give a f**k,” she said in the video, showing viewers her swollen face.
Another video shows Osman in the hospital, understandably emotional about what she endured.
While wiping away tears, she asked, “What have I ever done to anyone in my life to deserve this?”
“I don’t understand,” she repeated, still reeling.
The incident quickly blew up on social media. After almost a month of online outrage and skepticism, she gave her first interview, during which she opened up about what she’s been through.
Osman told NBC News that many people don’t believe the incident occurred.
“First they’re like, ‘Where’s the police report?’ You don’t have a police report.’ I show the police report. Then they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s a fake police report,'” she told the outlet. “Then they’re like, ‘Show us the hospital records. You don’t have hospital records.’ I show them the hospital records. ‘It’s fake hospital records.'”
“The goal posts will never be met,” she added.
She shared that many social media users asked how she responded to her attacker.
“Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, come on. Tell me what you did to him. What did you do? Did you taunt him?” she told NBC News. “It’s so ironic to me that they’re like, ‘I can’t believe somebody would do something that violent for no reason.’ But then you’re online being violent for no reason.”
NBC News reviewed the police report, filed Sept. 3, and Osman’s hospital records. The latter stated her left ear canal was bleeding, and the left side of her face was swollen, bruised and sensitive.
The attack completely shifted Osman’s life, and she told NBC News she’s unsure how she will recover.
“I don’t know how I’m going to support myself. I don’t know how I’m going to graduate on time. I don’t know how I’m going to, you know, feel safe again,” Osman said.
All she knows is the road to recovery will be long.
“It’s going to take months, maybe a year, maybe longer in my life to get it back together,” Osman told the outlet.
She also said the reactions to what happened to her are rooted in Black male fragility.
“I am an independent, strong, educated, successful Black woman,” she told NBC News. “That makes a lot of them just infuriated by my existence alone.”
Osman added authorities have identified a suspect and are investigating the incident.
