Three former Anti-Flag members have additional condemned frontman Justin Sane for “deceiving” them and “hurting so many individuals” following a Rolling Stone investigation the place 13 girls accused the punk-rock singer of predatory conduct, sexual assault, and statutory rape.
“To Justin, we imagine you’re very sick and in want of significant skilled assist. We need to have compassion and place confidence in restorative justice, however fuck you for hurting so many individuals, not simply those who’ve bravely come ahead, however anybody nonetheless carrying their ache internally,” Patrick Bollinger, a.ok.a. Pat Thetic, Chris Head, and Chris Barker, a.ok.a. Chris No. 2, mentioned in an announcement to Rolling Stone on Thursday.
“Fuck you for exploiting the work of the band and the many individuals related to it for thus lengthy. As many predators do, it seems you used our beliefs as a canopy for egregious actions that you just clearly knew we’d by no means condone.”
Anti-Flag’s 35-year journey as a band got here to an finish in mid-July when Kristina Sarhadi, a New York holistic therapist and well being coach, appeared on the “Enough” podcast to accuse Sane of violent sexual assault. Sarhadi didn’t title Sane — actual title Justin Geever — instantly within the podcast, nevertheless, followers have been fast to hyperlink the Pittsburgh native to her story. (Sarhadi later confirmed to Rolling Stone that Geever was the topic of the allegation.)
Every week after the podcast aired, Geever categorically denied the allegation, saying he had “by no means engaged in a sexual relationship that was not consensual.” He has not commented publicly since.
This week, 13 girls opened up to Rolling Stone about their alleged encounters with Geever going again to the Nineties and as lately as 2020. Their tales vary from allegations of predatory conduct and sexual encounters with Geever as teenagers, sexual assault, and statutory rape. Many of the ladies have been Anti-Flag followers and described Geever as their idol, alleging he exploited the ability he wielded with youthful, enamored women and girls for his personal sexual gratification.
“I used to be one amongst many made to really feel particular, manipulated, pressured, after which simply thrown to the facet of the street,” mentioned Karina, who used a pseudonym and described herself as sexually inexperienced when she started courting Geever at age 16, proper as Anti-Flag was taking off within the mid-Nineties.
Bollinger, Head, and Barker provided their thanks to the ladies for his or her “braveness in sharing the ache you could have skilled.” “To others who could but come ahead, whilst you don’t owe anybody your story, please know that you’re not alone and that we imagine you,” they added.
The band has largely remained silent after Sarhadi’s allegation, which they are saying they realized of a day earlier than the podcast aired via a preview of the episode, together with Sarhadi’s title and photograph.
“Justin responded that he didn’t know this particular person,” the three members declare. “The subsequent morning, when the three of us heard Kristina’s story, it turned obvious to us that he was mendacity. To be true to the values we embraced for many years, we give up the band instantly and with out hesitation. The three of us eliminated the band’s web presence in an try to restrict areas for individuals to assault, antagonize, or hurt Kristina as we tried to get a grasp on this surprising data.”
Many of the ladies who spoke to Rolling Stone raised questions concerning the different members’ information of Geever’s conduct. Three girls claimed that a few of the males have been current when Geever introduced them on tour, backstage, or on the tour bus as youngsters and younger girls. “They knew how younger everyone was,” Rebecca, who dated a then-25-year-old Geever as a 17-year-old within the late Nineties, claimed. “There was a transparent boundary that he saved crossing again and again that ought to have raised flags for everyone.”
The three males acknowledged followers have extra questions however mentioned they’re equally “studying of and processing” the data in real-time. “We trusted Justin vastly and are actually studying that we have been deceived, lied to, and saved in the dead of night for everything of our affiliation,” they wrote. “Two issues might be true: an individual might be sort and selfless in a single house and a monster in one other.”
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