Dubstep and bass music producer SNAILS has publicly responded to a number of accusations, including sexual misconduct and forcing fans to drink alcohol.
SNAILS, who recently returned to social media after a six-month hiatus, shared a lengthy statement on Twitter in which he denies the allegations. “There have been serious allegations made and I must start by saying these allegations are completely false. Now, enough is enough,” he wrote. “My fans and everyone around me deserve the truth.”
“At the beginning of my career my ‘party guy’ persona got me a lot of positive attention from promoters and friends, and it became a big part of SNAILS for that period of time. Partying was part of the culture and I wanted to fit in,” the statement continues. “Since fan interactions are a major part of why I love my job, I felt privileged to share, or be able to share what I have, which at times included alcohol. My fans are everything to me so I naively wanted everyone to have as much fun as I was having. I was wrong to assume this was okay. If I ever offended anyone by encouraging them to drink, it was never my intention to do so. It was and this is my responsibility to protect and ensure the safety of those around me. Those professional boundaries should never have been crossed and I acknowledge the need for improvement.”
SNAILS also denied accusations of drug use, calling such claims “absolutely untrue” and “completely fabricated.”
SNAILS’ statement follows the creation of an Instagram account called @evidenceagainstsnails, which was formed in July 2020 and most recently published a post today, January 5th, 2021. The page has shared a number of anonymous allegations of sexual misconduct, which SNAILS claimed do not “fall into [the] category” of sexual assault. He also apologized to those who felt uncomfortable as a result of his actions.
“Sexual assault is a serious crime. I stand by any victim of sexual assault, harassment, or abuse of any kind. Those experiences deserve to be heard. Victims deserve to be protected and defended. That being said, none of my actions fall into this category,” SNAILS wrote. “If I ever made someone feel even remotely uncomfortable, I deeply and sincerely apologize.”
“Though I cannot deny the validity of a person’s feelings, it never was and never is my intention to hurt someone,” he continued. “I understand that my influence as an artist may have caused power imbalance, and this is another reason why professional boundaries are so important. It’s easy for actions as innocent as friendly chatting, talking or texting to lead to misunderstandings, especially in the circumstances of touring when I’m interacting with so many new people and personalities daily.”
At the time of this article’s publication, no formal charges against SNAILS have been filed.
You can read SNAILS’ full statement below.