UPDATE 6/17 5:06 A.M. PST: One accuser is now claiming her assaulter was not Michael Clifford. Read her statement and apology (below):
https://twitter.com/sophiectth5/status/1272656761665785856?s=20
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5 Seconds of Summer guitarist Michael Clifford is facing what he’s calling “untrue” accusations of sexual assault after an event from his past has come back up on social media — and it really has fans wondering.
The musician spent quite a bit of time on Twitter in the last few days, publicly denying and trying to refute the allegations against him, all of which stem from a second-hand account that the Australian rock star allegedly invited an underage fan back to his hotel room after a One Direction concert back in 2013.
Related: NFL Player Sues United Airlines Over Alleged Sexual Assault On A Flight!
First, some brief backstory.
Several fan accounts are claiming Clifford and other members of 5SOS got down into the crowd of the 1D show and attempted to prey on underage girls there after having opened for the British boy band earlier in the night.
Some of the accusations are remarkably detailed, as you can see (below):
tw assault
since #michaelcliffordisoverparty this seems like a good time to finally say this. i apologize if these are hard to read/understand. i am open to polite and civil conversation on this as long as my trauma and safety is respected pic.twitter.com/ajYOPMZmNI
— ∆lexei × jostboat truther (@aIexmoffat) June 13, 2020
In addition to the allegations there, other fans brought up troubling actions from the rock guitarist’s younger days. Those included the fact that he once wore a shirt with the Confederate flag on it, among other transgressions that included inappropriate language, sexism, and more detailed exhaustively in this thread (below):
we’re gonna start with something that’s pretty well-known. he wore the confederate flag. this flag is used as a white supremacist symbol. after he was called out and got backlash for it, he never apologized. i know he’s australian, but i KNOW he knows now, and needs to apologize. pic.twitter.com/ZY5v4aMLVq
— sophie⁷ (@esnyz) June 10, 2020
Well then!
You can definitely go down the rabbit hole a little bit reading some of these things put up by different boy band fandoms, of course. Still, several of the accusations here are thought-provoking and worthy of further examination, to say the very least…
Related: Niall Horan Denies There’s A 1D Reunion In The Works…
In a series of tweets on Saturday, the now 24-year-old Sydney native attempted to walk back some of the social media firestorm coming his way, writing (below):
“hi. I am so f**king sorry for all the dumb s**t I did when I was younger. I am a different person now with a much better understanding of the world. some people have access to a digital megaphone a bit earlier than they should, unfortunately, I was one of them. I am so sorry for hurting anyone. it was never my intention. I was so naive and I am embarrassed and I am beyond sorry. I will continue to be better and I will continue to change. I never want to hurt anyone again.”
Then, late Sunday night, he again took to Twitter to more strongly refute the sexual assault allegations and other claims against him.
Taken aback by the seriousness of the claim, he didn’t mince his words, adding:
“holy s**t. i am heartbroken to read these things that are being said – they are just BEYOND untrue. i was never allowed in the crowd i only ever watched at front of house – and i would’ve never EVER done that. i wouldf [sic] NEVER do anything like that. i’m so f**king upset”
The singer further replied to more fans asking more clarity, tweeting:
this is what life was like in 2013 – please understand it wouldve been logistically impossible for me to get through a crowd at a show i just played at! im not trying to be defensive i promise this is just so completely falsehttps://t.co/7BfTBjiZLK
— michael clifford (@Michael5SOS) June 15, 2020
i really just dont know what i can even say. people are asking me to explain but how can i explain something that i was never involved with in the first place? i truly want to give you what you're asking from me but what more can i say?
— michael clifford (@Michael5SOS) June 15, 2020
Whew. That’s all quite a lot to take in, isn’t it? And from seven years ago, too… though as we’ve seen firsthand recently, s**tty behavior is worth canceling, no matter how long it takes!
What do U make of this boy band fandom controversy, Perezcious readers? There’s been a TON of social media chatter on this one over the weekend, but where do U stand??
Sound off with your takedown in the comments (below)…
[Image via Adam Bielawski/WENN]
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