Photo by David Brendan Hall
More and more allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct have been flooding in since the systemic abuse fostered by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was reported on a few weeks ago. Just yesterday, we saw women come forward about comedian Louis C.K. and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, and now Brand New frontman Jesse Lacey is being met with allegations.
Nicole Elizabeth Garey responded to a Facebook thread on Friday saying that Lacey solicited nudes from her when she was just 15 and he was 24. She also claims that he made her watch him masturbate over Skype. The thread was started specifically to confront Lacey’s unsavory behavior, which has apparently been whispered about for years.
Garey’s full comments, which were originally published on Uproxx with her permission, can be read below:
“YES. He solicited nudes from me starting when I was 15 and he was 24. Manipulated the hell out of me, demanded specific poses/settings/clothing, demeaned me, and made it clear that my sexuality was the only thing I had to offer. He knew what he was doing was sh*tty so he wouldn’t touch me until I was 19. I should’ve known better by then, but he had screwed me up so much psychologically that all I wanted was his approval. It fucked me up to the point that I STILL have nightmares and wakeup in a sweat. I still breakdown and have panic attacks when people play Brand New in a bar. JESSE LACEY IS A PIECE OF SH*T.
OH AND YES HE MADE ME WATCH HIM MASTURBATE ON SKYPE. Apparently that’s a common thing with sexual predators. I took screen shots at some point, they’re probably on a computer in my basement if I ever really wanted to rehash my past that much (I don’t think I do).”
Lacey has yet to address the allegations.
Brand New released their fifth and supposedly final album, Science Fiction, earlier this year. Their current plan is to break up for good in 2018.
