According to a report by published by Ellie Flynn for DJ Mag, veteran techno music producer and DJ Derrick May has been accused of sexual harassment by four women.
The women, whose names were changed to protect their identities, detailed graphic accounts of sexual harassment and abuse by May that date back 20 years. The new allegations were precipitated by similar accusations levied against May by Michael James, a former Detroit-based colleague and collaborator.
The stories told by the women recount incidents of groping, indecent exposure, and forcible touching, among other allegations against May. One of the women, who told DJ Mag she was assaulted in a hotel bathroom, recalled her attack as “aggressive and premeditated” and said that May “waited until he got [her] alone and basically attacked.”
At the conclusion of Flynn’s report, May offered a formal response. “As a black man working in a white-dominated and openly biased industry, am I expected to have learned the painful lesson that there is no such thing as truth, fairness, or due process? When will the long, storied history of weaponizing the sexuality of African American men end?” he said. “Must I collaborate under duress with my own victimization at the hands of an openly hostile press that amplifies the so-called fears of privileged, anonymous women in an internet-mediated lynching?
“I have no interest in legitimizing these distortions,” he continued. “Women are the conduit of life, and as such, are to be protected, and not exploited. I live by those words.”
You can read Flynn’s full investigation on DJ Mag.
Editor’s Note: For professional guidance and support, speak with a sexual assault service provider via The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
