The woman Nate Parker and his The Birth of a Nation collaborator Jean Celestin were accused of raping is dead, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Parker and Celestin are currently under fire for the rape charges, which were lodged in 1999 when both men were students at Penn State. Although the woman remains unnamed, THR revealed that she died April 15, 2012, at the age of 30.
Parker and Celestin are currently under scrutiny for the incident. And the fact that Parker's recent statements about the incident are nonapologetic seems to be an issue with many people.
“She was tormented,” said S. Daniel Carter, who worked as a campus sexual assault advocate for a nonprofit group called Security on Campus, to THR. "It was the constant contact and fear of seeing her assailants on campus. This was long before any real guidance on sexual assault came out.”
Although THR did not release the cause of death, the victim attempted suicide several times after the rape. Also, according to Variety, the woman's brother said she did indeed commit suicide.
“She became detached from reality,” the woman’s brother, Johnny, who asked that his last name not be used to honor his sister’s wishes to remain anonymous, told Variety. “The progression was very quick and she took her life.
“If I were to look back at her very short life and point to one moment where I think she changed as a person, it was obviously that point,” Johnny continued. "The trial was pretty tough for her.
“I think by today’s legal standards, a lot has changed with regards to universities and the laws in sexual assault,” he said. “I feel certain if this were to happen in 2016, the outcome would be different than it was. Courts are a lot stricter about this kind of things. You don’t touch someone who is so intoxicated—period.”
As more news comes out surrounding Parker and Celestin, people are now taking a stand against both men and are refusing to support their movie.