The first woman to sue classified advertising website Backpage for allowing advertisements touting sex with underage children danced and “dabbed” as President Trump signed an anti-sex trafficking bill in the Oval Office Wednesday.
“I am not a survivor. I am M.A. It’s about damn time,” she said from behind Trump before dabbing.
M.A., woman who sued https://t.co/98d3bCFj8l, dances as Pres. Trump signs bill combatting online sex trafficking. “It’s about damn time.” https://t.co/jmdzOE7XOn pic.twitter.com/FCnGNCFfvA
— ABC News (@ABC) April 11, 2018
M.A. was among a number of guests invited to the White House to witness the signing of the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, which gives federal law enforcement officers more powers to prosecute those who promote or facilitate prostitution on the Internet.
In 2010, M.A. unsuccessfully sued Village Voice Media, which at the time owned Backpage, after she was kidnapped and sold on the website.
Though her legal team was unable to establish the publisher’s intent to encourage crimes, her case sparked a flurry of similar lawsuits that resulted in the site being seized by the Justice Department in 2018.
Dabbing is a dance move where a person hides their face behind one elbow before raising their other arm at an upward slant.
It is believed to have been inspired by a 2015 music video by American hip-hop group Migos and gained popularity following its use in moments of triumph, for instance by sports stars.
