“we had internal discussions at Stereogum as to whether we should post the story”

yet probably zero discussions concerning whether to post anything further about r kelly, apparently

How can you lecture people about taking rape lightly and then say this girl should be ashamed of herself for not reporting it right away? Don’t a lot of rapes go unreported? It’s a traumatic experience, a lot of people probably opt to just push it from their memory and try to pretend it never happened. Maybe not the right move but it’s understandable.

The older I get, the smaller the small print looks. Sigh.

You are a fucking idiot. I’m sorry I can’t be more diplomatic about this. She told her mother when she was younger and wasn’t believed. What part of that story do you think would have made a victim feel they could report to authorities? That’s assuming her own mother didn’t straight up tell her not to. Which happens A LOT to minors who disclose about sexual assault.

I don’t have to feel pity for an alleged rapist. I feel sorry for the victim here that isn’t being believed and is now having what was probably her worst fear realized: hundreds of slack jawed idiots calling her names on the internet because “OMG she’s crying rape for attention. This happens all the time!”

False allegations are such a slim percentage of reported assaults. The number of rapes that go unreported dwarves the amount that are falsely reported. The reason why SO many rapes go unreported is EXACTLY because of bullshit like you just spouted off. Victims are confused and hurt and scared and ashamed and then rape apologists like you reinforce all those fears that they won’t be believed. Why would they go get poked, prodded, analyzed and interrogated just to be told they were lying? For a lot of victims they simply shut up, shove it down and then years or decades later find the strength to start talking about what happened to them fully knowing they will never see justice.

You are what is wrong with this world. You are the embodiment of rape culture. How fucking dare you.

Fuck Muse.

“If she was truly raped, she should have gone to the authorities immediately after it happened.”

“we had internal discussions at Stereogum as to whether we should post the story. But this one, in particular, has virtually no middle ground to it(…)”

So don’t post it…

“but Oberst will almost certainly never be able to prove his own innocence either.”

WHAAATTT? Innocence has to be proven now??????

I always get depressed by social media/comment section responses to these sorts of rape allegations. As a lot of people have stated, there’s likely no real middle ground here – either one of the parties is a rapist, or one of the parties is a liar. But I just feel like when there’s a notable lack of evidence that gives credence to either party’s account of what happened, people are way too quick to grasp at straws in order to build up one side. Corroborating that Connor Oberst has a middle school teacher for a brother, or noting that the alleged victim took down some of her posts, don’t really do a whole lot to bolster either’s case.

I’ve got no problem with speculation when you’re dealing with something fun like album release dates or pro sports trades, but when you’re dealing a powder keg like an alleged rape, I think you’ve got to be a bit more sensitive. Either a victim is going to live her whole life knowing that she was seriously hurt by someone who will likely never face any sort of legal or financial penalty, or an innocent man is gonna get dogged his whole career for something he never did. I feel like the the least I can do for the innocent party is not play the part of public opinion judge.

I think they made a critical error by counting on all the people who liked Foster the People to remember Foster the People.

I agree! Whoever gave the okay on this article, know that you have turned a random blog (that has absolutely NO credibility and even less after they have removed some of their posts) into what could turn out to be a scandal. It is going to do nothing but harm to Mr. Oberst.

As a member of the media, you are responsible for posting truth on the internet and not drumming up BS for the sake of the amount of hits you get.

I hope Mr. Oberst takes you to court and sues you for every penny you have…or at the very least, the person responsible for this drivel is fired.

*Your comment has been downgraded by two Stereogum employees.*

It this kind of idiot thinking that would believe that some random “girl” on a website would post that Conner raped her.

Thank you! A voice of reason! Sure it could have happened, but most likely, it’s some disgruntled person who is discrediting Conner by making up a story about rape. Most likely a male who has no idea the complexities of his attack.

Anyone making light of this story, needs to shut their mouth. This is not something to joke about or take lightly. Rape is not funny. People lying about rape for attention, belittles all those who are truly raped. Whether you like Conor’s music or Conner himself, you have to feel pity for people making faulty accusations, because even if they are NOT true, it stays with you for your whole career.

This girl should be ashamed of herself for using rape as a way to get attention. If she was truly raped, she should have gone to the authorities immediately after it happened. Not, wait for 10 years and then post it anonymously on a website.

What the hell is wrong with people?

Hosted Carrie at an event last year – she was just as charming as you’d expect her to be. I wish I’d had more time to talk music with her, because god knows my musical knowledge and impeccable taste would’ve made us instant best friends for life, but I did cheers a glass of bourbon with her and John Hodgman before hopping in a limo with them, so there’s that.