R&B singer Ameer Vann has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women. The first allegations came to light on May 10th, when a woman named India Arie came forward with accusations that Vann had assaulted her sexually and emotionally in a post on Twitter. Since then, more women have come forward with similar stories about Vann.
Ameer Vann Allegations Of Sexual Assault
On social media towards the beginning of May, several women accused Ameer Vann of BROCKHAMPTON of sexual assault. In retaliation, Vann published a statement on his website in which he asserted that he had “never criminally hurt anyone or disrespected their boundaries,” “never had contact with a child,” and “never violated anyone’s consent.”
A few weeks later, BROCKHAMPTON released a statement revealing Vann had left the band. The statement said, “We wish to sincerely apologize to the victims impacted by Ameer’s acts” We’re sorry for not speaking up sooner, but we were misled.
Now, two women have come forward to Pitchfork with statements outlining their claims that Vann has mistreated them both physically and mentally.
Vann did not answer inquiries regarding this topic several times. Brockhampton’s spokespeople declined to comment. Requests for comment from Brockhampton’s record company, RCA Records, went unanswered as well.
Vann has not been charged with any crimes related to the allegations, and none of these ladies reported the claims to the police or other authorities.
Texas woman Shawna Berry, 24, who has never before come out publicly, revealed to Pitchfork that she and Vann had a few-night-long sexual encounter in January 2015. She claimed she gave her agreement to sexual activity but not to the alleged physical abuse that went along with it.
Berry reported that Vann would aggressively spank her while holding her arms and legs anytime she complained about one of his alleged acts. If I told him I didn’t like something, Berry claimed in an email, “it only made him want to do it more.”
“Once it started, I had no way to stop it because I had no notion what to anticipate.” She claimed that while at first, she had seen Vann’s actions as a manifestation of BDSM, she had abandoned their relationship after realizing that “my body could not withstand what Ameer was putting me through.”
When asked why she returned after the first night, Berry claims to Pitchfork that she was “in an episode of manic” and would look for “reckless” or “risk” things. She also added that she hadn’t yet completely comprehended the seriousness of what allegedly occurred.
Early in 2015, Berry shared a room with Kayla, who wished to only be referred to by her first name. According to Kayla, Berry informed her of the alleged abuse at the time. Shawna, who knew more about sex than I did, informed me that this was BDSM and that his kink was the master-and-slave type, Kayla stated in an email. It sounded strange, so I wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t my sex life; it belonged to her.
Former BROCKHAMPTON member Titus Gilner told Pitchfork that Kayla, with whom he was dating at the time, informed him about Berry’s allegations of Vann’s alleged physical abuse shortly after it reportedly took place.
He refrained from adding any more commentary while pointing to his tweets from the time Vann’s accusations originally appeared. “I realize I should probably keep quiet about this. However, I simply cannot,” he wrote in one.
“I support Rhett and anyone else who needs love and support,” she said. In another, he urged people to help those who had been injured rather than himself. It’s not about me in this. I’m just letting you know that if you need me to stand up, just let me know.
Pitchfork received more information about charges of physical assault from singer-songwriter Rhett Rowan, who claimed last month on Twitter that Vann was “mentally abusive and emotionally manipulated during an alleged relationship in 2015.”
Rowan claimed Vann bit her, held her down during sex, choked her until her eyesight turned black, and left dark marks all over her body. She explained in an email, “I just believed we had this experimental type of sex life, and I convinced myself it was ‘fine’ even if it hurt”. Although the sexual activity was consenting, it was not something he would do, and stopping was not an option.
Berry claimed that five months after her relationship with Vann ended, Rowan moved in with him. Berry added, “I knew she was in peril, I understood what was happening”. Berry’s roommate Kayla claimed that she was also aware of Vann’s “bad treatment of [Rhett].” Both expressed regret for not taking action at the time.
On the condition of anonymity, an old friend of Rowan’s said she called Rowan in 2015 after seeing a picture of her on Instagram with what seemed to be bruises and marks all over her neck. The friend claimed Rowan informed her that Ameer, her partner, was responsible for the bruises and bite marks.
BROCKHAMPTON delayed the rest of their tour after Vann left. The group members observed a moment’s silence during each song where his verses would have played, at Boston Calling in late May and also on other shows they had scheduled before then but postponed them indefinitely following this incident with uncertainty surrounding whether or not he’ll be returning to finish album PUPPY which was originally due out soon afterward.