On Monday, Otep frontwoman Otep Shamaya ruffled some feathers after a tweet she posted alleging that one of the reasons she might not be on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest this year was because one of the corporate sponsors was homophobic. In further conversations via Twitter, it was made apparent that it was Rockstar itself. It didn’t take that long for Mayhem Fest co-producer John Reese to reach out to Shamaya, and while she didn’t apologize for her allegation, she turns the incident into an opportunity to condemn the media. In a series of tweets, she stated the following:
“Didn’t realize how many fake news blogs would sensationalize a single tweet I posted to try to take advantage of your ad clicks. #wow My job as a cultural arsonist is to set fires inside the minds of the masses to make ppl think. Sometimes that has unintended consequences. A lot of these fake news sites just repost tweets without adding any journalistic qualities to it at all so they can make $$$ from ur visit. They invent fake controversies w/out investigating, w/out questioning, just to incite readers. My tweet about @MayhemFest is a good exmple Thankfully, I just got off the phone with John Reese who runs @MayhemFest & we cleared up the misunderstandings & false reports. Since the release of my 1st album in 2002, the extreme music community has come a long way in terms of social awareness & acceptance.
My conversation w/John Reese was productive & insightful. We’re both fighters who carved our own place in music. @MayhemFest #respect”
While she calls herself a “cultural arsonist,” it sounds like Shamaya got called out on her allegations. If she’s stating unfounded opinions just to stir up shit, that’s irresponsible. And while many sites, including ours, reported her tweet, I would doubt that any of them reported it as a fact. We certainly didn’t. Shamaya herself appears to have created a fake controversy. Now that we know that none of the Mayhem Fest homophobia rumors or allegations are true, we can all go on with our lives. Thanks for creating a dialogue, Otep…
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