Singer Tyler Carter is finally responding to sexual assault allegations made against him earlier this week.
The 28-year-old rocker, who came out as bisexual in 2015, has been a member of the band Issues since 2012. He released his debut solo album last year.
On Monday, a Twitter user by the name of @dookietrance accused Carter of grooming him when he was 14 years old, getting him drunk, and sexually assault him.
He then went on to accuse Carter of “constantly asking me for nudes for the entirety of our ‘friendship’ while I was very underage”.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
The man’s profile has since been set to private.
Of course, accusations don’t equal guilt, but internet sleuths uncovered a tweet from 2012 that many feel corroborate the story. In the tweet, @dookietrance is mentioned while talking about “band sluts” for Issues.
It’s possible man. The guy was pretty open about wanting to be a “band slut” in 2012. So it’s definitely possible something happened.
It’s also possible he lied about his age. Many possibilities.
Best thing we can do is just listen. pic.twitter.com/gFaRkTajH2
— Ryan Moses (@RMoses10) September 2, 2020
A few more old tweets about @dookietrance and Issues then surfaced.
Starting to look like something may have been going on pic.twitter.com/63ak30LeVD
— Ryan Moses (@RMoses10) September 2, 2020
Looks like AJ knew the kid personally pic.twitter.com/ePkedHEZTu
— Ryan Moses (@RMoses10) September 2, 2020
Whether or not something nefarious happened is not clear, but the accusations were enough for Issues to put out a statement saying it was cutting ties with Carter, who is one of its founding members.
— ISSUES (@issues) September 2, 2020
And that’s when things took another turn.
In response tot he band’s tweet, a second man came forward to say he, too, had been groomed by Carter at a young age, writing: “These allegations are sadly true. Tyler added me on Snapchat when I was about 14-15 and would talk about how cute I was and how soon after would ask me for nudes. He knew I was underage and thank god I was smart enough to never send him anything but I believe it 100 percent.”
These allegations are sadly true. Tyler added me on Snapchat when I was about 14-15 and would talk about how cute I was and how soon after would ask me for nudes. He knew I was underage and thank god I was smart enough to never send him anything but I believe it 100 percent.
— Charlie (@misery_charles) September 2, 2020
After laying low for three days, Carter finally responded to accusations this morning in a long yet vague statement posted on his Instagram and Twitter pages. In it, he admits to having “crossed boundaries” and “blurred lines” in the early days of his career, but “I have never physically assaulted anyone in my life.”
He also admits to flirting with fans who messaged him on social media and says “I did not discipline myself” in those exchanges, later implying one of the people was “someone younger than me.”
“For this, I’m gravely remorseful,” he says. “For years I’ve been sorry.”
Carter goes on to say he never meant to hurt anyone, and that he confused “friendship, brotherhood, and mentorship, with feelings of confusion and romantic interest.”
He concludes by writing that he “can not [sic] fathom the stress and angst I may have caused. I have heard you. I understood you. And I’m sorry.”
controversial2019
From the tweets and Tyler’s post (never heard of him or the band), I infer:
1. The original accuser was known to Tyler and the band
2. Tyler did message with and (probably) accept flirtations, return flirtations and escalat flirtations with the initial accuser (which was wrong)
3. Tyler abused his status and ‘influence’ by doing #2
There is nothing to evidence Tyler requests illegal nudes.
There is nothing to evidence Tyler assaulted anyone.
Therefore he should be criticised for what has been admitted to/proven (points 1-3) but as both the USA and UK are supposed to enforce “innocent until proven guilty”, he should not be attacked for allegations which have not been admitted/proven.
controversial2019
But We all know that society these days says “F U to due process, you’ve been accused thus we will treat you as guilty of every accusation”
dhmonarch89
so, I’m guessing the request for nude pics was accurate, since he doesn’t address that claim…asking for and sending underaged nudes is considered child pornography. The FBI is undoubtedly investigating.
jayceecook
He didn’t address it more specifically because it didn’t happen. The alleged victim even said that he didn’t send any. Nobody seems to have proof yet that anybody did.
controversial2019
@jayceecook
But you forget that nobody gives a sh*t about proof anymore. If someone is accused, well, they must be guilty. I mean the law doesn’t say that, but trial by public opinion is considered “sufficient justice” these days. If only people would go back to the law…
jayceecook
What I find interesting is that Queerty isn’t providing some details I think are important. At the time this alleged abuse happened his main accuser would have been somewhere between 14 and 16 while Carter would have been between 17-19.
While still problematic in ways it’s not the same thing as the traditional stories of grooming we read or hear about. There’s a lot of nuances between the two. I’ve said it before but I don’t consider somebody who is 17, 18, 19 to be a fully formed adult even if the law does. Heck, not even 20 or 21. The brain doesn’t even fully mature until 25. Drugs and alcohol certainly don’t help one make appropriate choices.
As I usually do I will play the waiting game and see what more information comes out in the coming days and weeks before forming an opinion I stand firmly behind. I saw so many comments about believing the victim, including his former band members, and calling for his head that it’s terrifying how quickly people are to tear somebody to shreds. The fact that his former band cut all ties immediately is extremely disappointing. You can be both sympathetic to the allegations and Carter. I will say though that his apology letter came off as very authentic and self aware. Maybe a little too self-deprecating. Though I can understand why.
controversial2019
That’s what I hate about everything these days. Every accusation has studios, record labels, bands, dropping people after a single allegation. No proof. No trial. One accusation and a career can be ruined. I feel like the studios etc should say “We hear the allegation. However no action will be taken until such a time as a conviction comes about”.