At this point in time, to hear about a rock musician in hot water over accusations of rape and sexual abuse causes absolutely no one to be surprised.
But in what appears to signal a somewhat different atmosphere, a band has imploded and disbanded at the impact of the accusations, which is quite a change to the usual ‘deny-deflect-defend’ playbook most artists implement when dealing with issues like this.
Allegations against punk rocker ‘Justin Sane’ say he makes eye contact with young women – including teens – at his band ‘Anti-Flag’ shows, later approaching them to engage in non-consensual sexual acts.
Loud Wire reported:
“A total of 12 further women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault against the musician Justin Sane (real name Justin Geever), the founding lead singer of Anti-Flag, the longtime political punk band who suddenly broke up in July after an initial sexual assault accusation pointing toward the singer and guitarist had emerged.”
The new allegations against Justin Sane (‘just-insane’) point to ‘predatory behavior, sexual assault and statutory rape’ – including accusations of sexual relations with a 12-year-old girl – that go back to the 1990s.
50 year-old Justin Sane did not reply to the new accusations, but in July, he called the first allegations ‘categorically false’.
“The initial accuser, Kristina Sarhadi, implicated Justin Sane on the July 19 episode of the podcast enough., saying she was raped by a musician fitting his description without identifying him or the band specifically. But she confirmed to Rolling Stone that she is accusing the Anti-Flag singer.”
The women say that his abuse and manipulation that included ‘violent and non-consensual acts’.
‘”It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced’, Sarhadi claimed of her alleged encounter on the podcast. ‘I can’t stress how violent he was, and how much I fully believed I was going to die — that he was going to kill me.’
But Saradahi initially didn’t know there were other accusers. ‘I had no idea it happened to anyone else. […] I felt stupid, embarrassed and confused. Because how could it have happened with this person? He is the anti-rape singer. They are the outspoken feminist band [that] released an album benefiting women victims of crime. It doesn’t make any sense. [But] even in nature, the worst predators have the best camouflage.”
Some accusers have even claimed that the whole band was complicit in the alleged abuse. But in a statement, Anti-Flag’s other members replied:
“We trusted everyone associated with the band to maintain a safe and respectful environment. The understanding that abusers can be anywhere further reinforces the importance of survivors speaking out and sharing their stories. Further, we feel strongly that all predators must atone for their inappropriate actions and be held accountable.”
Previously, the band had released another statement about the band dissolving:
“A core tenet of the band Anti-Flag is to listen to and believe all survivors of sexual violence and abuse. The recent allegations about Justin are in direct contradiction to that tenet. Therefore, we felt the only immediate option was to disband.”
They added that they had ‘never seen Justin be violent or aggressive toward women’ in the 30 years of the band’s lifetime.