He has been MeToo'd. He has assaulted several women I know. They came to tell me because I used to have a podcast with him but they have each told me they don't want to come forward because of the backlash of his fans. And they were right. One woman, Tierney Tough, finally did tell part of her story recently and the backlash was intense.
@drurystephanie oof, i did not know about this. thank you for letting me know and sorry for boosting unaware. i'll go familiarize myself with the story
i'll leave this thread open so others can see stephanie's comment. it's important for people to know.
seeing fans of bazan dismiss it outright because "she seems off" is really disheartening and disingenuous. i don't want to continue in that trend of trying to dismiss someone trying to tell their story.
again, really sorry to learn about all of this. oof.
@BennyTheIcepick @nikkuneko Thank you so much for believing and caring. I was bracing myself for more backlash and am so relieved that these women are taken seriously. I'll link to two public FB posts I made and many of Bazan's buddies (who had been my buddies) swooped into the comments and my DMs to cast doubt on the accounts. It's especially devastating because Bazan's brand is "sincere ally" and I bought it hook line and sinker for many years, and love(d) his music so much.
Here are the links to the posts I made where I highlighted Tierney's story. I work with sexual assault victims and they are so often discredited and called crazy so to see this playing out amongst friends has been a mindfuck. Thank you both again for hearing and for your empathy, truly.
@drurystephanie thank you again, and thank you for the additional info. i know even just carrying these stories for other people can be tough, let alone navigating the backlash, so you're a hero.
i was in the midst of typing an additional reply to you because i was worried i'd come across too passive in my initial response; i should have explicitly said that my "thank you" also meant "i trust you". i'm glad you did come back to the thread.
i'm sad that it took me years and years of learning from people who went through stuff like this to see how both "she seems crazy" and "well i've known him all my life" are weaponized against people just trying to speak out. i've seen it happen time again, with artists i follow as well as people i've known in real life, and i'm honestly sick of it happening without being interrogated. especially sad to see it unchecked here.
i guess i just gotta "grieve" this revelation, be done with supporting his music, and try to warn friends about this. i want to believe that he'll address it (or be forced to reckon with it) someday, but i worry he never will.
seeing fans of bazan dismiss it outright because "she seems off" is really disheartening and disingenuous. i don't want to continue in that trend of trying to dismiss someone trying to tell their story.
again, really sorry to learn about all of this. oof.
That makes me immeasurably sad and angry. Thank you for being someone they felt they could trust with their stories.
Here are the links to the posts I made where I highlighted Tierney's story. I work with sexual assault victims and they are so often discredited and called crazy so to see this playing out amongst friends has been a mindfuck. Thank you both again for hearing and for your empathy, truly.
https://www.facebook.com/share...
https://www.facebook.com/share...
i was in the midst of typing an additional reply to you because i was worried i'd come across too passive in my initial response; i should have explicitly said that my "thank you" also meant "i trust you". i'm glad you did come back to the thread.
i'm sad that it took me years and years of learning from people who went through stuff like this to see how both "she seems crazy" and "well i've known him all my life" are weaponized against people just trying to speak out. i've seen it happen time again, with artists i follow as well as people i've known in real life, and i'm honestly sick of it happening without being interrogated. especially sad to see it unchecked here.
i guess i just gotta "grieve" this revelation, be done with supporting his music, and try to warn friends about this. i want to believe that he'll address it (or be forced to reckon with it) someday, but i worry he never will.