In 2013, Kay published an article sympathising with Serena Williams' "Rolling Stone" statement regarding the Steubenville rape case. In a response to a comment, she said, "Ours is not a rape culture. If it were, our girls would be walking around in burqas". Further debate over what constitutes rape culture came in February 2014 when Kay criticized universities for exaggerating the prevalence of rape. Her claim that prudent women face a "statistically nugatory" chance of being assaulted was referred to as "irresponsible nonsense" by Toula Drimonis and Ethan Cox.