Former Of Mice & Men singer Austin Carlile accused of sexual misconduct:
The first half of June 2020 surrounds the accusations behind former Of Mice & Men frontman Austin Carlile. The accusations fled to Alternative Press, who were investigating the claims against Carlile and eventually shelved the story over legality reasons (according to Loudwire). The news spread shortly after Jonathan Stiffler, husband of one of Carlile’s accusers, who outed the vocalist on social media after AltPress didn’t run the story and shared the following thread on Twitter:
A few years back, realizing the extent of the damage done, I organized a group of women (MANY) who had been raped or sexually assaulted by @austincarlile over the years to be interviewed by @AltPress. I knew him personally, I worked in the scene & I married one of his victims.
— Father Jonathan Stiffler (@jdstiffler) June 8, 2020
A few days later, Alternative Press wrote an extensive note to their readers and apology to the survivors.
Jonathan’s wife, Caitlyn Stiffler shared her story along with slamming Alternative Press’ apology:
“I originally shared this in my stories & on Facebook, but I don’t want it to disappear. I want anyone who needs to see this to see it.
Dear @altpress,
Remember when over 15 girls shared their stories with you about this serial rapist? Because I do. I was one of them. Now you want to not only share HIS nonsense, but you want to put his name next to Jesus? No, just, no. It’s not okay.
The alternative community has followed you for YEARS. I followed your stories so closely all through high school and watched my artist friends be featured by your magazine. To be contacted by you to share my story, in hopes that it wouldn’t keep happening to other girls, felt like a dream. Finally there was something I could do, considering I was told by law enforcement that there was nothing else I could hope for with no physical evidence. I never thought anyone would believe me or take this seriously, then there was your magazine asking us to share.
He not only raped girls, probably more than anyone even knows about, he was a predator seeking out underage girls by using his position in the music industry to do so. He threatened you with a lawsuit and you backed down. I get it, who would want to be involved in that when you could just… not. That was your choice, a choice none of us had. We can’t just let it go and forget. I for one had hoped that you would at the very least stop featuring him. Guess I was wrong to hope that.
He needs CANCELLED. Get him out of these kids’ faces who believe he’s a good person deserving of recognition. #cancelaustincarlile #austincarlile
If you feel comfortable, please share this. Girls need to know what he’s capable of doing. He can’t hide from this forever and I can’t stand by anymore wondering if he’s out there doing this to anyone else.”
“We do not accept your backhanded, cover-up apology. You do not have our permission to release any parts of our interviews. We won’t be swept under the rug this time, and we certainly aren’t going to work with @altpress to tell our story.”
Of Mice & Men have responded to the accusations:
— Of Mice & Men (@OMandM) June 9, 2020
A few days later, the former Of Mice & Men singer denied all accusations against him with the following statement:
“In my younger years, I absolutely was not the best person, but I have never physically abused, preyed upon, forced myself upon, or drugged any woman. These accusations are false and defamatory.
I am not a perfect person: I smoked marijuana daily, drank often, got into fights and acted like a jerk more times than I can count. I did things and acted in ways that I am not proud of, but never have I violated anyone. These ‘accusations’ being thrown around on social media, in our current ‘cancel culture’ climate, are extremely heinous and completely without merit.
My wife is a molestation and rape survivor, and I have personally seen the deep, long-standing pain that she battles with every day. I have spent years surrendering my flesh over to God, allowing Him to constantly improve who I am as a man, husband, and father. During this past week, I have even had the joy of seeing the heartbeat of my new child for the very first time. Today, I am focused on supporting my pregnant wife, our daughter, this new blessing in our lives, my health, my wife’s health, and striving to be a better person every day.
“These accusations have been investigated by the appropriate authorities as well as independent journalists and were determined to be unfounded. I apologize to the Marfan Foundation, I Am Second, my former bandmates and any of our dedicated fans who have been unjustly brought into this controversy and wish them all nothing but the best.
All women deserve to feel safe, supported, and heard, but these unjust attacks upon my family and accusations against me, are decades-old claims that are unfounded.”
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