Mike Pont/WireImageFormer Of Mice & Men frontman Austin Carlile has denied accusations of sexual assault as “false and defamatory.”
Earlier this month, a woman shared a Facebook post alleging that Carlile “raped girls, probably more than anyone even knows about,” and that he’s a “predator seeking out underage girls by using his position in the music industry to do so.”
The woman also said that she was one of over 15 girls who spoke to Alternative Press for an article about Carlile’s alleged sexual misconduct, but the piece was never published. In its own statement, Alternative Press acknowledged the existence of the article, and said in part that the story was not published “because we could not check all the boxes we, as journalists, must check.”
In an Instagram post published Thursday morning, Carlile writes, “I have never physically abused, preyed upon, forced myself upon, or drugged any woman. These accusations are false and defamatory.”
“I did things and acted in ways that I am not proud of, but never have I violated anyone,” he continues. “These ‘accusations’ being thrown around on social media, in our current ‘cancel culture’ climate, are extremely heinous and completely without merit.
Carlile adds that the accusations against him “have been investigated by the appropriate authorities as well as independent journalists and were determined to be unfounded.”
“All women deserve to feel safe, supported, and heard,” he concludes. “But these unjust attacks upon my family and accusations against me are decades old claims that are unfounded.”
Carlile left Of Mice & Men in 2016 due to health issues. After the allegations broke, Of Mice & Men tweeted that they had no prior knowledge of the Alt Press piece, and had no part in “suppressing any such article.”
“We absolutely condemn sexual violence and harassment in any form,” the band said.
By Josh Johnson
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