Singer and The Voice alum Melanie Martinez has made a fairly horrendous statement after her former friend, Timothy Heller, publicly accused her of rape.
If you haven’t been following the story, Heller posted the account on her Twitter yesterday.
“When I wrote this story about my assault, I initially wasn’t going to make the abuser [known],” she tweeted. “But I think it’s important for you all to know this is about Melanie Martinez.”
She described how the singer, during a sleepover one night, began pressuring Timothy into sex.
“She began asking me while in bed if I would have sex with her. While being incredibly uncomfortable by this offer, I attempted to laugh it off. I had a boyfriend at this time, and she knew that. ‘He doesn’t have to know, it’s not a big deal!’ It went on for hours. Asking my WHY I didn’t want to, that it would be fun. I repeatedly said no.”
The following evening, Heller says that Martinez began the same routine.
“The same conversation began to happen. Continuously trying to convince me it was going to be okay and it would be fun and feel good. I would say, my boyfriend would be so upset! I really need to sleep! I have work in the morning! I said every form of no I could think of. As I lay praying to fall asleep, she began touching my arm. I allowed this to happen. Maybe she’d give up. This went on for maybe an hour. I got increasingly uncomfortable. I started giggling, saying that it tickled. I in no way wanted to make this a sexual situation. ‘Can I just do this? Can I just touch your arm? Can I just touch your boobs?’ She began bartering with me. All I wanted to do was go to sleep. She began talking about the appearance of my boobs and begged to JUST touch them. We didn’t have to do anything else. I was so exhausted and confused and high and belittled I just allowed it to happen. This lead to her touching the rest of me. I never said yes. I said no, repeatedly. But she used her power over me, and broke me down.”
She finishes her story by inviting anyone doubting the abuse to imagine if Martinez had been male.
“If you begin to doubt the abuse taking place in this story, I beg you to image her role in this being a man. Girls can rape girls. Best friends can rape best friends. Friendship does not equal consent. Silence doesn’t equal consent. I wish it wasn’t so hard to convince myself of these things.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbc9wmRF4Vl/?hl=en&taken-by=timothyheller
Heller told Newsweek that about twenty minutes are she posted her tweet, Martinez tried to contact her for the first time in over a year.
“I started sobbing when I saw [Melanie] was calling me, and I blocked her,” she said.
She said that Martinez then tried to get in contact with her boyfriend, telling him that she had recently dreamed about Heller and that inspired her to get in touch.
A short while later, Martinez took to Twitter to publicly deny that she’d sexually assaulted Heller, making the meaningless – and frankly horrendous – claim that Heller had “never said no”.
“I am horrified and saddened by the statements and story told tonight by Timothy Heller,” she said. “What she and I shared was a close friendship for a period of time. We came into each other’s live as we were both starting our careers as artists, and we tried to help each other. We both had pain in dealing with our individual demons and the new paths we were forging, but I truly felt we were trying to lift each other up. She never said no to what we chose to do together. And although we parted ways, I am sending her love and light always.”
https://twitter.com/MelanieLBBH/status/937949003777372162
It’s absolutely worth noting here that words like “she never said no” do not, in any way, mitigate sexual assault. Just in case there was any confusion.
Heller continued to Newsweek:
“Her fans see her as this angel who understands them.So I assumed no one was going to take me seriously if I explained what she did. I’ve been reading all the #metoo stories, and though I’m obviously in support of the people coming forward, I wasn’t sure if my story of being assaulted fit.
“People don’t really talk about this. But I know now that assault happens this way all the time. I loved her even after it happened, and I had this sick need to protect her, which I’ve learned is very common for victims of assault, especially those hurt by their family or friends.”
Former Martinez fans have been quick to disavow the singer, even going as far as to destroy their merch and delete her music.
https://twitter.com/hannahxxxwalker/status/937887708491538433
RAPE is rape. whether by men or by women, it’s rape. it’s never, nor will it EVER be justified. pay attention. women are capable. men are capable. and it’s time it stops. it’s time this is over. STOP DEFENDING. STOP LETTING THINGS GO. #MelanieMartinezIsOverParty
— emma (@emmafgrantham) December 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/WeStanLegends/status/938136910039527424
Seeing a lot of people defending her (??????) because “it’s not the same thing” or because “they’re both women, so there isn’t an imbalance of power.” No, no no no sexual assault is assault no matter who the perpetrator is.
— a drawing of a frog (@spencerclaus) December 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/v_espertina/status/937861591000846336
https://twitter.com/tragictoastt/status/937894546897342464
https://twitter.com/samshearts/status/937845124373123072
Martinez has yet to make a further statement on the matter.
You can read Heller’s original post in full below.
If you would like to access support for issues around sexual assault, please call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
