Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Da Brat and wife Jesseca Dupart recently sat down with Tamron Hall to discuss and address the comments the the couple made about the few Black sperm donors that were available to them.
Da Brat and Jesseca Dupart have been in the media lately due to the rapper’s pregnancy news. Recently, the couple was scrutinized for choosing a white sperm donor to conceive their child. When asked why they went this route, the ladies explained that there wasn’t a variety of Black sperm available for them to choose from. After screening thousands of donors, the couple settled on 300; out of that number, only one was Black. “And that [dude] looked like Jiminy Cricket,” joked Brat.
In response to the couple choosing a white donor and Brat’s comment, social media erupted, causing Brat’s wife, Dupart, to hop on her Instagram and address the backlash. “The headlines are misleading, but also my wife made a distasteful joke, and now it’s attached to the headline and making it seem like we choose strictly off of looks and we didn’t at all,” wrote Dupart.
On the “Tamron Hall Show,” Brat addressed and apologize for her comments by saying, “People who know me know I didn’t mean any harm. So, if I offended anybody I do apologize. But it was a joke between me, my wife, and the doctor. We joke like that. We play around, so it wasn’t meant to be offensive in any way.” pleaded Brat.
Lack of diverse options for Black women
Da Brat and Dupart’s decision has sparked a conversation about the challenges faced by Black women and especially those who are LGBTQ+ couples trying to conceive. The process can be expensive, time-consuming and emotionally draining. The lack of diversity among donors only adds to the difficulties.
According to CBS News, cryobanks in the U.S. have been found to have limited options for women of color seeking donors who share their backgrounds. In particular, there is a serious lack of Black sperm donors in the U.S., with 95 percent of the sperm that is available coming from white donors. The lack of Black sperm donors can be attributed to a number of factors, including the cryobanks’ failure to enlist them, the three-generation medical history requirement and the exclusion of donors with felony convictions.
Additionally, mistrust of the medical profession among Black men due to past discrimination also contributes to the shortage. Providing medical history records is also a requirement that can be challenging for Black men due to limited access to healthcare.
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