Terry Crews, the Feminist: ‘Millions Have Died Because of Male Pride’
If you’re a Brooklyn Nine-Nine fan, you may not be surprised to learn that Terry Crews is a feminist. Especially if you’re infatuated with his fictional alterego Terry Jeffords, the deep feeling, anxious bodybuilder , who effortlessly manages a precinct full of misfit detectives, while ready to drop everything at the request of his wife and twin girls, Cagney and Lacey. That is, until you learn that the former art student from Flint, Michigan, was in the NFL for six seasons. Not since Rosey Grier have we encountered a football player who genuinely identifies as a champion of women’s causes. Married for 25 years, with five kids and one grandchild, 46-year-old Crews’s singularly warm, comedic presence has brightened a series of famously surreal Old Spice ads, as well as an impressive résumé of sitcoms. Last spring, he published a memoir entitled Manhood chronicling his path toward rejecting traditional notions of masculinity and gaining awareness of the need for gender equality. While many men in Hollywood say that women’s issues matter to them, the actor has taken a proactive approach, speaking frankly about his eye-opening journey to feminism and lending his voice to non-profits like the Polaris Project, a global leader in combating human trafficking. DAME spoke with the funny man about his feminist awakening.
More: Terry Crews, the Feminist: ‘Millions Have Died Because of Male Pride’