Minneapolis rapper Astronautalis released a statement after members of the city's hip hop scene, including DJ Fundo, Prof, P.O.S., and Dem Atlas, were accused of abusive behavior. Accounts have since surfaced accusing Astronauatalis, aka Andy Bothwell, of abuse, as well. On June 25, an anonymous account was posted to Instagram, which a Twitter user screencapped. In it, Bothwell is accused of sexual assault and physical abuse:
KT Endgahl came forward the next day, saying, "I wasn’t planning on coming forward, but since my abuser has decided his timeline can go back to normal, I feel obligated to say @astronautalis abused me for 7 years."
She continued, "I really didn’t want to come out. I really don’t want to be reliving my trauma all fucking over again. But there are no passes for this shit. That 'statement' was a joke. It was cruel to the MANY womxn he’s hurt. I am still trying to rebuild myself. 10 years after meeting him I’m still trying to pull the pieces of myself back together. Still trying to teach myself that I am a worthy human being. To all of the survivors—I hear you. I see you. I believe you. I’m sorry for the ways I failed you. We all deserved & deserve so much fucking better."
A third person also came forward with a lengthy account of their experience with Astronautalis. They ask that their account remain on Twitter; you can read it here.
Astronautalis responded to the allegations with a new statement. "All of that work I did on myself, and with my family, didn’t do a damn thing to all of the other women I have hurt, abused, and humiliated over the years," he wrote.
"I did emotionally abuse and gaslight KT Engdahl for years," he continued. "She cared a great deal about me, offered up an infinite well of kindness and friendship, and in return, I walked all over her. When I hurt her, I either convinced her the way she felt was wrong, or weaseled my way through some half assed apology, but I never fulled owned up to what I had done and what I was doing to her."
He also wrote, "When I read the account for the anonymous woman on Instagram, I was mortified. To have such disregard for her feelings, to be so blind to her fear in the moment, I was appalled to read that and recognize myself in those words. There is no explaining the way I behaved, there is no excuse for treating a human being like that."
"Going forward," he later continued, "I am going to try reach out to the other women I have hurt, and give them a chance to be heard, on their terms, if they want. I know I can not undo the damage I have done, but they deserve the chance to be heard, and I need to be forced to confront the damage I have done."
Read his full statement:
Astronautalis continued tweeting after his statement, writing:
Astronautalis had also been doing a podcast for Consequence of Sound, and they have now cut ties with him in a statement:
Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, who was in Jason Feathers with Astronautalis, tweeted on June 26: "Mpls music shit this week is so intense. So many facts. So much ricocheting, lotta damage. From my distance, I do see all of it as progress."
Update: Fellow Minneapolis artist DJ Minnie Blanco, who previously responded to P.O.S.'s early statement saying that he had "caused deep harm to my family over the years," posted the following:
I lived with @astronautalis for years, we toured together. I thought of him as family & spent many of my most vulnerable moments with him. He was who I'd call if I felt unsafe or was too fucked up to get home.
I learned recently, from MANY women, that he is a serial rapist.
i always knew he was slut (ain't nothing wrong with an ethical one), we often read books together & discussed the theories of polyamory & radical honesty & i foolishly assumed he applied those principles in his sex life. but he kept that aspect of his life so compartmentalized that i knew something was wrong. he was very intense & secretive. he also has OCD (he'd scrub the entire bathroom with a toothbrush & bleach). there were other red flags too like when he'd leave the house & offer up so much unsolicited information about where he was going that it was an obvious lie. he was very calculated about which women i got to meet & would keep the rest secret. he had a dangerous & excessive molly problem.
over the years i developed the tools to recognize the patterns of abuse in all these men we've been talking about, but before i could use them on Andy he pushed me out of his life first. He kept my sister & I away from his wife to protect his many lies.
I thought I knew which kind of monster he is but it's much worse
to all of his many victims: i'm so sorry.
@Kitschy_Hipster @AnarchyAndi & I want to hold & uplift & protect each and every one of you, please reach out to us. we hold this responsibility very close to our hearts.
Minne Blanco previously wrote, "we are not done. more survivors come forward to us with their stories every day. if that makes you nervous, good. I’m anxious but i’m not afraid. I have nothing to lose, my career doesn't exist right now & i don’t care if it ever returns. we are building a new future & nothing is more important than that. survivors are circling to protect each other while our abusers retaliate in real time. some of it is obvious & malicious & some is more insidious; like performatively apologizing to fans instead of relinquishing power to their victims. like pitting us against each other. like threatening livelihoods. We are not safe & we need COMMUNITY PROTECTION. If you have come to believe that we need to restructure policing in our communities, however recently, now is one of the moments to come forward & dedicate your time & resources to new models of safety."
PREVIOUSLY:
* Doomtree, Prof and others respond after members of Minneapolis hip-hop scene accused of abuse.
* Rhymesayers issue statement, drop Prof and Dem Atlas following allegations.
* Atmosphere resond to Minneapolis hip-hop scene abuse allegations.
* Doomtree respond to allegations against P.O.S.: "the stories you are reading... at least some of them are true."
* Psalm One calls to boycott Rhymesayers as 2015 interview about label mistreating her resurfaces.
