A Michigan mom is speaking out after her social media post about Taylor Swift went viral when a man reposted it without crediting her.
"This is literally about women deserving to be heard, whether that's Taylor Swift being able to show up to a football game, or it's me being able to share my honest opinions about how we can do better for our kids and how women deserve respect and to be appreciated for the good things they do," Jordan LeVeck told "Good Morning America." "It felt so ironic that a man took that post and got all the praise for it."
When LeVeck, an entrepreneur and a mom of two, saw her social media feeds fill up recently with critical posts about the pop superstar receiving attention while attending NFL games in support of her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, she said she wanted to share a message for others, especially parents.
LeVeck, a mom of a 5-year-old daughter and a 9-month-old son, posted her opinion in a Jan. 30 Facebook post. Her post coincided with the backlash Swift was receiving, with some complaining she was getting unnecessary airtime during NFL game broadcasts, an argument that has since been addressed, with The New York Times reporting Swift appears on screen for less than 25 seconds on average during a typical three-hour NFL game at which she's in attendance.
"I'm SO disappointed in so many of you who think that 'not being a fan' of someone means you're entitled to s--- all over them," LeVeck wrote in part.
"Your daughters, nieces, and nephews are watching you run your mouth. And they're seeing the world hate a woman who does so much good, simply because she exists in their line of sight. Do. BETTER," she added.
Then, a complete stranger -- a man -- took LeVeck's post, modified it and shared it again. His post went viral.
LeVeck said she found out after others online, including her friends, started sending her the other post and pointing out that it was nearly identical but that small changes had been made and it was shared without any mention of her. She told "GMA" she was "shocked" after seeing the post and how much attention it was getting and felt compelled to speak out yet again.
"It was just really frustrating because it's like, why would my words and it coming from a woman not be as powerful as a random man in a suit sharing it?" she said.
She added, "It's nothing against him. I just wish that it wasn't that way. And I hope that people can start to look at their subconscious biases."
LeVeck said she later reached out to the man who re-shared her post and he edited his post to make clear she authored the original message.
Following the reaction to her Facebook post, LeVeck also took to TikTok to call out the repost and how her words had initially been changed without any acknowledgement. She said by sharing her perspective, she hopes to show that women and girls should get the recognition they deserve.
"[Children are] going to learn that women need to take up less space and be less, and that they can't fight for what they believe in or show up in a big way without being torn apart just for existing. So I just wanted to help people to consciously choose to be better because our kids deserve that," she said.
LeVeck said she also hopes the incident will encourage others to think twice before sharing on social media without a second thought.
"It's OK to get inspiration from someone else's thoughts but you should not steal them as your own," she said. "I want him and everyone to just do a little bit better when it comes to giving women recognition for the work that they do."
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