August 20, 2020
Watch: Trans Instagram Star Describes Terrifying Episode of Assault, Robbery
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Instagram and YouTube star Eden Estrada - known online as Eden the Doll - posted a long thread of video clips she had gathered from the social media accounts of people she said stood by and watched as she and two friends were accosted, robbed, and assaulted.
The video is located in a tab at Eden's Instagram page labeled "HELP".
The episode unfolded in the early hours of Aug. 17 in Hollywood, as Eden and two friends, Jaslene White Rose and Joslyn Flawless, waited for an Uber ride, reports CBS affiliate KCAL.
The news channel reports:
"Estrada, who has close to half a million followers on the social media platform, said she believes the attack was targeted. She said that after the three women were robbed, people across the street were yelling out derogatory terms for those who identify as transgender and that was when the man started attacking them."
In the violence that followed, one man struck Jaslene, apparently knocking her unconscious, reports Elle.
At that point, Elle reports, "the men can be heard saying 'she's dead' and 'hit her again' as Eden pleads with the men to call the police."
The videos are narrated with text provided by Estrada, who gives a moment-by-moment account of the sometimes confusing action. At various times, her phone is stolen; a group of men Eden says are friends of the thief chase the women; a man yanks away one of the women's handbags; a man extorts money from Eden in exchange for her stolen phone; and another man allegedly robs the injured Jaslene at knifepoint.
A crowd of people watch and take video throughout.
At one point, Eden posted, a police car came by the scene of the ongoing alleged crime - but after briefly slowing down, the vehicle simply drove past.
Near the end of the video thread at Instagram, police officers arrive and begin to ask questions. Bystanders claim to know nothing.
Eden, however, posted names, images, and accusations against four men, saying that one had "Assaulted, Robbed, attempted to KILL." She accused a second man of having "Robbed" the woman and said he "threw a SCOOTER on us." A third man, she claimed, "Filmed and instigated everything then POSTED it on Instagram."
That man's Instagram account has now been set to private, news sources noted.
A fourth man was also pictured - the one who had allegedly "extorted me. Robbed my phone while I begged for it to call the police. HE SOLD IT BACK TO ME FOR ALL THE MONEY IN MY BAG."
"I know that I'm so privileged, because I am a YouTuber and because people know who I am, but this happens all the time to women like me who aren't on social media," Eden told KCAL. "We need this to stop."
Eden excoriated the onlookers she said did nothing to help.
"Women. Men. Our brothers and sisters. Laughing at us. This is our America."
Eden also posted:
"People preach black lives matter and want equality for all but this is how they treat BLACK TRANS WOMEN.
"If their lives don't matter then none of ours do!!!!!!!!"
Watch the KCAL news clip below.