Electronic music industry has ‘pervasive culture’ of abuse and sexual harassment, survey finds
The results of a survey on abuse, harassment and micro-aggressions in the electronic music industry have been released. Read more
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[VIDEO] Judges Allows Derrick May Court Case Concerning Alleged Sexual Assault To Proceed to Discovery
Over the end of 2020 sexual harassment and assault allegations began to surface against Derrick May as part of a broader conversation concerning sexual misconduct in the electronic music world and now, a court judge has ruled that discovery period begins for these allegations.
Erick Morillo’s Death Officially Ruled An Accidental Drug Overdose
Drug overdose has been confirmed as the cause of death for Erick Morillo.
The official autopsy has confirmed that the September 1st death of famed DJ Erick Morillo inside his Miami Beach home was accidental and drug-related.
On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade Medical Examinerâs Office released the results of the autopsy and toxicology report, which confirmed that the 49-year-old, who has been accused by more than 10 women of sexual assault and rape, died of “acute ketamine toxicity” combined with MDMA and cocaine.
What is Sexual Assault? Unpacking Its Definition
In light of recent accusations of sexual assault against Erick Morillo, Bassnectar and Billy Kenny, it’s important we all understand the definition of sexual assault and are able to fully contextualize it within the music space. Sexual assault is a form of sexual violence and can be defined in different ways. But first and foremost, the thing to fully grasp is this: it is never the victim’s fault, period. Drugs and alcohol are commonplace in the music industry and nightlife in general, and all too often non-consensual drugging plays a role in sexual assaults. Regardless, whether non-consensual drugging takes place or not, victim-blaming remains commonplace with “responsibility” for the assault levied on the victim’s use of alcohol and drugs, rather than on the perpetrator of the assault. This is not ok and has been used far too long to justify predatory behavior that we must eradicate not just from the music space, but from society at large.
Despite the rampant substance (ab)use in the music space, we, its community members, need to start denormalizing rape culture and violence against our community members, and in particular women and trans.
Opinion: We Cannot Continue To Separate The Art From The Artist
The events surrounding Erick Morillo‘s death have brought an important subject to the forefront of our industry’s conversation: how can we continue to separate art from the artist when the artist is responsible for violence, rape or abuse?
Erick Morillo was found dead at his Miami Beach home on Tuesday, September 1.
On August 6, 2020, Morillo was arrested and charged with sexual battery on a woman for alleged rape. In December 2019, Morillo and his accuser were working as DJs at a private party on Star Island in Miami Beach and later went to his Miami Beach home. She told detectives that she was drunk at Morillo’s home and declined several sexual advances before passing out in an empty bedroom and later waking nude with him beside her, also nude.
DJ Erick Morillo Found Dead in Miami Beach
Erick Morillo was found dead this morning (Tuesday, September 1st), Miami Beach police confirmed.
The international star DJ was facing charges of sexual battery following rape allegations.
Erick Morillo Has Been Arrested and Charged with Sexual Battery
Erick Morillo, popular DJ and head of Subliminal Records, has been arrested in Miami and charged with sexual battery on a woman. The incident, according to police, occurred this past December 2019 at his Miami Beach home.
Opinion: Why A Women-Only Music Festival Does Nothing Long-Term
It’s Domestic Violence Awareness month and while the media’s focus has been on sexual predator and recognized American film producer, Harvey Weinstein, people on Facebook and Twitter have been sharing personal sexual assault stories with the hashtag #MeToo.
Unfortunately, the festival culture has contributed to this problem. In 2015, a Coachella festival attendee proudly wore an âEat, Sleep, Rape, Repeatâ shirt while he posed with a grin and the peace sign. In 2017, one rape was reported at Glastonbury festival in the UK. The BrĂ„valla Festival in Sweden reported four rapes and 23 sexual assaults over the course of the four-day event and was consequently canceled for 2018. These are a few of the recurring tragedies in our community.
To confront what happened at BrÄvalla Festival, a Swedish comedian and radio host, Emma Knyckare, proposed an idea on Twitter:
Vad tror ni om att vi styr ihop en asfet festival dit bara icke mÀn Àr vÀlkomna som vi kör tills ALLA mÀn har lÀrt sig hur en beter sig?
â Emma Knyckare (@Knyckare) July 2, 2017
“What do you think about putting together a really cool festival where only non-men are welcome that we’ll run until ALL men have learned how to behave themselves?”
The idea spread like wildfire and Knyckare created a Kickstarter to crowdfund Statement Festival, “the worldâs most awesome music festival – without cis-men” where her goal is to, â…create a safe space for the people who want to attend a festival without feeling scared for their personal safety.â The fund surpassed its goal of 500,000 Swedish Krona, which is approximately $61,630, by 3,300 people who funded the campaign.
Regrettably, this voluntary gender segregation implies that men and women cannot coexist peacefully. It reminds me of the commonplace gender segregation that occurs in places like India and the Middle East.
Besides creating a safe space during the festival, the rash decision to bar cis-men doesnât address the root of the problem: sexual assault education.
According to a 2013 report by the United Nations, rapes and sexual assaults are a direct result of sexual entitlement, seeking of entertainment (who knew) and as a punishment. These are the areas where men need to be educated.
Take the hashtag #MeToo. It was extremely powerful for men to see the amount of sexual harassment and assault stories that it caused several of themâin my very own communityâto self-analyze and really look at what is happening around them.
Men do not need to be told that the only way women can be kept safe is through segregation. They need to understand the consequences of their actions from an early age; they need to be taught about consent by their guardians, parents, teachers, and peers. They need to be taught the importance of basic human decency, respect, and love. And most importantly, they should lead by example to influence their male counterparts.
While Statement Festival may solve the assault issue in the short-term, it wonât help solve anything long-term. It reinforces the ideas that men and women cannot live in unison, and that all men are sexual offenders, even if they arenât. It does not present innocent men the opportunity to teach their male counterparts how to respect women and how to be conscious of their actions. After all, donât we want to be as inclusive as we aim to be included and treated fairly?
