Metal Anarchy

Slam Dunk Festival founder Ben Ray has stepped down. This news comes after he was accused of sexual assault by showgirl/actress Jenny Miller

The festival issued the following statement:

“COMPANY STATEMENT

WE ARE AWARE OF ALLEGATIONS PUBLISHED YESTERDAY RELATING TO ONE OF OUR DIRECTORS. WE TAKE THESE ALLEGATIONS SERIOUSLY AND UNDERSTAND THAT THEY MAY BE DISTRESSING AND HARD TO PROCESS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

OUR SLAM DUNK FANS, STAFF, AND ARTISTS ARE, AS ALWAYS, OUR TOP PRIORITY. WHILE HE STRONGLY REFUTES THESE ALLEGATIONS, THE DIRECTOR IN QUESTION HAS AGREED, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE BOARD, TO STEP DOWN FROM SLAM DUNK OPERATIONS WHILE THIS MATTER IS ONGOING.

SLAM DUNK REMAINS COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING A SAFE, RESPECTFUL, AND INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, AND CUSTOMERS. OUR VALUES AND CULTURE ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO HOW WE OPERATE, AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO UPHOLDING THEM.

IT WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR US TO COMMENT FURTHER ON AN ONGOING LEGAL MATTER.

HOWEVER, WE PROMISE TRANSPARENCY AND HONESTY TO OUR SLAM DUNK COMMUNITY AND WILL PROVIDE UPDATES WHEN IT IS APPROPRIATE TO DO SO.”

For her part, Miller said the following via Facebook:

“This man sexually assaulted me multiple times on separate occasions and raped me while I was passing out from the coke he provided me.

I am in the process of pressing charges against him for all the trauma he gave me. He was my friend and I trusted him. He would pay me to dance for him coz he was stripper-obsessed and I was broke, but the rules are do not touch me ever. When I was passing out, begging him to stop and get off me, he pulled my knickers to the side and went down on me. I wasn’t strong enough to get him off of me.

I would tell him repeated to get the fuck of me and he wouldn’t and then he would try harder.

The man is vile. I told his wife, now ex-wife, what he did to me and what he was doing behind her back. She was doing IVF at the time to try and have his babies.

I became close friends with him in the strip club because he was offering me a job to work for him as a stripper at his festival for rockstars in the VIP and he wanted to open his own strip club. He also knew a lot of my friends in bands so I trusted him, but he’s a predator and rapist and everyone should know.”

She also shared a text exchange:

[via Lambgoat]