Last week, the solo artist and former Black Midi member Geordie Greep's tour came to the Pearl in Vancouver. Outside the show, a man handed out flyers calling Greep a "rapist" and saying, "You know what you did this morning Oct 8th." That night, Greep took the stage an hour and 40 minutes late, without the members of his backing band, and made a statement about the allegations before playing a solo set. Soon afterward, Greep canceled the rest of his US tour dates without making a further statement. Now, his alleged victim has spoken out about his actions, as has touring keyboardist Cameron Campbell, who says that he immediately left the tour.
At the Vancouver show, Greep told the crowd that he and his bandmates had been out drinking the previous night: "It ended up in a situation where, really late at a house party, I got the wrong end of the stick with someone that was there. I made a move, and it didn't come off, and I really quickly, of course, apologized. It was a complete misunderstanding on my part, and I felt extremely bad." He went on to insist that he is "not a rapist." Greep's alleged victim agrees with that part, but she says that she passed out while drunk and woke up to Greep kissing her on the lips without consent.
Paste has published a long report from both Greep's anonymous victim, who goes by the pseudonym "Laura" in the article, and from Cameron Campbell. (Reps for Greep declined to comment when Paste presented them with the story. Stereogum has also reached out for comment, and we'll update if we hear back.) Laura tells Paste, "I was not raped. I was sexually assaulted, and [it was] more than a kiss taken the wrong way." She also says that a male acquaintance distributed the flyers calling Greep a rapist without her consent: "A man who was mad made the false claim, not the victim. I want that to be very clear."
Laura tells Paste that she and a friend met Greep and Campbell at a bar and that she repeatedly mentioned that she's in an exclusive relationship. After the bar closed, the group went to Laura's friend's apartment. During the walk, Laura says that Greep "made inappropriate comments about homeless people," and Campbell adds that he also said off-putting things about "his opinion on race or gender or things like that," agreeing that Greep's words made the group uncomfortable. Laura says that she passed out around 5 a.m. and woke up to Greep kissing her: "I don’t know for how long because I was passed out, but I think I woke up fairly quickly. His lips were on my lips, trying to make out with me, and then I pushed him off."
In the story told by both Laura and Campbell, Laura's friends and Campbell rushed in when they heard her screaming at Greep. Allegedly, Laura's friends kicked Greep out of the house, but Greep kept trying to return, at one point claiming that he was "looking for his phone." Campbell says, "He tried to start downplaying it right there, saying that he only tried to give her a kiss on the cheek — which, again, if she’s asleep, that doesn’t really make it OK either way." He adds that he saw Laura "crying and very visibly shaken up" in the aftermath.
Campbell says that he immediately decided to quit Greep's band and made plans to return home. He says he told Greep's tour manager about it, and Greep's tour manager told the rest of the band: "We all confronted Geordie about the situation and told him that his behavior is completely unacceptable." He says that he didn't hear about the accusatory flyers until he was in an Uber, on his way to the airport.
Paste, whose contributing news editor Tatiana Tenreyro did exemplary work on this story, has longer statements from both Laura and Campbell. You can read the full story here.
UPDATE: Greep has posted a statement about the night's events on Instagram. It reads as follows:
There have been articles in the press following my show in Vancouver on October 8 and I want to be very clear about what happened.
On the evening of October 7 a group of us were out in Vancouver. At some point in the evening, we met a group of people and continued the night with them. We ended up going to one of their apartments and were there until the early hours.
I fell asleep in an armchair and, at around 6am, woke up. One of the women in the group was on a sofa opposite me alongside three other people who were with us that night. Throughout the night I had - I now realise mistakenly and stupidly - believed that she was interested in me. I went over to her and leaned down to kiss her. I kissed her once and she immediately responded negatively and pushed me away. I apologised and stepped away. She was understandably upset and told me to leave. She told me she had been asleep, which to my great regret, I honestly did not realise. I left the apartment but returned a few minutes later as I realised I had not taken my phone. After collecting my phone I left.
I want to unreservedly apologise to her for what I did and for the distress and hurt I caused that night. It was a huge mistake. I feel awful about it and I am very sorry. I got it all wrong that night and I accept that. I understand the impact of my actions and take full accountability. I'm not trying to minimise what happened in any way and, again, all I can say is how sorry I am.
Greep's bassist Dave Strawn has also posted a statement in response to Paste's report. In an Instagram story, he writes:
My heart breaks for Laura. I can't even begin to express my disappointment and anger with Geordie for violating her bodily autonomy — there is no excuse for this, it should never have happened. And with the unnamed man who robbed her of her right to share her story on her terms.
Proud of Cameron for doing the right thing that night. Hopefully one day we won't exist in a world where this is considered exemplary.
Drinking is no excuse. We have to be better.
If you or someone you know has undergone sexual abuse, please visit rainn.org or contact the National Sexual Assault Helpline at 1-800-656-4673.
