26-year-old indie pop star BØRNS, born Garrett Clark Borns, has been accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women. The disturbing allegations contend Borns groomed teenaged girls via lengthy social media communications that typically included the sharing of illicit photographs and videos — occasionally when the female involved was just 17 — until the individual in question turned 18, at which point Borns allegedly invited them for a drink and eventually convinced them to have sex with him.
In a statement issued via Instagram, Borns said he was “hurt and angered over the disturbing and false allegations…” “All of the relationships I have had were legal and consensual,” he continued. “They ended abruptly and that obviously caused hurt feelings, but for anyone to suggest anything beyond that is irresponsible.”
It’s true that none of the accusers appear to be alleging anything non-consensual or illegal sexual contact. Still, the myriad stories involve underaged pornography and drinking, all seemingly parts of longterm manipulation by a pop star.
One of the first to level allegations against Borns was Twitter user @kaliforxnia. She claimed to have struck up a friendship with Borns after meeting him during a 2015 concert. After months of what came off as friendly communication, he allegedly invited the 19-year-old to his show in Chicago. Following the concert, she said he invited her back to his hotel via text, but she declined. The next time he was in town, she said Borns began texting her again, asking her to “send pics” and inviting her to “Netflix and chill.” She declined all of these overtures, and it would be months before they communicated again.
This time, she was visiting Los Angeles and he invited her for drinks. Though she assumed they would be meeting at a bar, she was surprised when her Uber dropped her off at his place, where he served her drinks. “Suddenly I became drunk and was completely taken advantage of,” she wrote. “Once everything happened I went to the bathroom and started bleeding. I was completely shocked from the blood and started to get it together and realized what just happened. I blamed myself for that night because I didn’t say no even though I was intoxicated.”
The next month, they met up again in Chicago, where Borns got her into a bar “without having me get carded.” When they ended up back at his hotel, she said, “… one thing led to another and I was filled with a little guilt even though I was a little drunk in the moment because I actually let him talk me into using me….again.” She added, “Also, I’d like to add in that he did not use protection and didn’t care when I said I wasn’t comfortable with that and was not on birth control at the time.”
Twitter user @alyssaadaniele also recounted her story, which began when she met Borns at a music festival when she was 16. She claimed he invited her back to his hotel after the show, and “he began to touch my leg but I didn’t think much of it. As we were watching TV, he began going further up my leg and started skimming me in other places. I want to add that he also was [aware] of how old I was, 16, yet he still touched me the way he did.”
Though he “ghosted” her the next time he came through town, they met up again in Texas the night before her 17th birthday. They began communicating via Instagram DM, and when things switched to Snapchat, Borns’ behavior allegedly changed. Borns apparently got upset when she tried to save messages from him. “I don’t remember when things transitioned from being normal conversation to him wanting me to send him things I’d never sent anyone before,” she recalled. “But it happened. And he began sending me pictures, and I began sending him pictures. He told me what he wanted to do to me, and wanted me to call him ‘daddy.'”
The sexually explicit communication allegedly continued for some time. “He started treating me like a toy,” the accuser continued, “only talking to me when he was lustful, and this went on for the next year and a half.” When she turned 18, they met up at his Los Angeles residence and became intimate. “He got me drunk, started touching me, and we went into his bedroom,” she said. “The things he did were things I did not want, and it hurt. He was aggressive and controlling and I was so fucking scared of him.”
In a later post, she clarified that the sex was consensual and she was of age at the time. Indeed, none of these accusations appear to be regarding rape, but the pattern of manipulating young fans into having rough, unprotected sex is well documented on the @exposing_borns Twitter account.
A 19-year-old girl named Mathilda is referred to as “The Hamburg Girl,” for example. The incident involved Borns once again striking up a social media relationship and eventually “only asking for nudes.” It got to the point where he flew her out to Hamburg, Germany for two days during his European tour. “He was very kind and gentle to me,” she said, but quickly added, “I did not like the way he wanted to have sex wit [sic] me. Made me scream for daddy’s cock etc etc. Very uncomfortable.”
Though Mathilda said she continued sending nudes and even videos after the Hamburg trip, she “just felt worse and worse. I tried to talk to him about this but he did not care. He could just me off whenever. I was so afraid to lose him since I got very attached and he knew that. I was just a little puppet in his game.”
The full accounts from the first two accusers are below.
We reached out to Borns and his representatives for additional comment.
