Defending First Lady LisaRaye McCoy of the Turks and Caicos Islands

But first, a little context seems in order. Last week, the premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), Michael Misick, launched an extraordinary attack against me in Parliament. He was reacting to what I wrote in my weekly column, which Caribbean Net News (CNN) publishes. He deemed I had committed the cardinal sin of criticizing him for bankrupting our country. 

Mind you, this is the same CNN column in which I hailed Misick and wished him well when he became the first premier of the TCI. Sadly, political tribalism has become so visceral that members of the opposition party, the PDM, condemned me as a traitor for hailing him. 

Yet the irony seemed lost on him (and them) that this premier was now condemning me as a PDM crony. Of course, when I hailed Misick back then, I was merely putting his achievement into historical context. And when I criticized him last week, I was merely putting his failure of leadership into political context. 

Defending LisaRaye McCoy

In that spirit – of speaking truth to power and giving (reasoned) voice to the voiceless – I am obliged today to put another matter into context. It pertains to the salacious and malicious rumours now stalking TCI First Lady LisaRaye McCoy. 

She was a successful actress and model in her former life. Everyone knows this. I suspect that is what titillated Misick to marry her. And it’s easy to understand why – given her image at issue on the cover of Smooth magazine. 

That is the image of the woman our premier married. Yet viral republication of that image has TCIslanders hurling moral indignation at her. The situational hypocrisy would be laughable if it were not so pathetic and hurtful.

They would have you believe this image of our first lady is bringing the TCI into disrepute. And, apropos of context, they do not care that she posed for it as a professional model, not the first lady of the TCI. And they seem oblivious that they are unwittingly casting aspersions on Misick for marrying the woman on that cover.

Facts belie this ‘Smooth’ scandal

I am dismayed. Not least because McCoy’s most indignant critics are self-professed Christians, who should know well God’s admonition to “judge not, lest ye be judged.” 

Even worse, they seem hellbent on destroying her reputation as a spiteful way to twist the knife in our terminally wounded premier. And they are basing their moral indignation on idle gossip. 

But I have faith in the innate compassion and good sense of my fellow TCIslanders. And I am confident they will accord our first lady the deference and respect she deserves when presented with the following facts:

1. A female photographer named Jeanette Rulli took the picture at issue in the fall of 2003. That was over two years before McCoy met Misick.
2. McCoy was then working as an actress. As such, she did what every beautiful and respectable actress, from Halle Berry to Angelina Jolie, did to further their careers; i.e., she modeled.
3. These women invariably retain no control over the use of their pictures. That’s why, all these years later, magazines like Smooth can publish them to exploit the positions of honor and esteem they attain later – in society, the arts, or politics.
4. The picture at issue is modest compared with those of other respectable actresses circulating online.
5. Even if McCoy appeared fully nude, I suspect it would have been in the artistic style we see naked women on display in some of the most hallowed museums in the world, including at the Vatican in Rome. Of course, if you prefer a more contemporary reference, consider that a fully nude photo of the first lady of France, Carla Bruni, was sold at auction just weeks ago.

A misguided distraction

Too many TCIslanders are vilifying our first lady for taking a perfectly professional picture years ago. But those critics would serve our country better if they joined me in criticizing our premier for squandering our nation’s wealth.

Of course, the TCIslanders hurling moral indignation at her are probably the same ones who have already convicted him rape. But I urge all TCIslanders to consider what the following question says about our character and soul as a God-fearing nation:

• Why did so many think so little about treating so cruelly a woman who must be heartbroken over allegations that her husband betrayed her by raping a woman in their home?

Indeed, it speaks volumes about Misick’s character that he appears happy that rumours about his wife’s virtue are deflecting from the allegation of rape against him. That cannot bode well for their marriage. 

Of course, nobody should be surprised by his lack of chivalry. Frankly, he has given me cause to write too many commentaries criticizing him to count. And, given the looming Commission of Inquiry into his corrupt administration, the allegation of rape is far from the only criminal charge he faces. 

But I’ve always criticized Misick for the same reason I am defending McCoy: their respective offices reflect who we are as a people. And, to the extent those offices are besmirched or corrupted, we, too, are besmirched or corrupted.

* This article is also featured today at Caribbean Net News, the most widely read newspaper in the Caribbean.