Billy Kenny‘s response to recent allegations of sexual harassment and assault have prompted additional women to come forward. Among them is Calgary DJ and producer bbmars, who has accused Kenny of raping her after she opened for him at The HiFi Club on March 4th, 2017.
As with the initial three allegations that caused Shambhala Music Festival to remove Kenny from the lineup of their digital event, bbmars’ story was shared with her permission via Twitter by Veronica Weibsstück. She recounted attending an after party for the HiFi club event with Kenny and suddenly feeling extremely intoxicated after a couple drinks. She couldn’t find her phone to call an Uber, so the Leeds artist invited her back to his hotel room.
it’s been a rough day for a lot of people and unfortunately @BillyKennyMusic’s apology made it worse for those already seeing what was coming forward but also have delt with it. MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING. THIS IS RAPE.
Billy you owe BB MARS more than an apology – LEAVE pic.twitter.com/WpNP7EvYq8
— ????? ☾ #BLM (@veronicaweibs) July 15, 2020
“BK said his flight was in a few hours – so I could stay in his hotel room, sleep, sober up then walk to my car in the morning,” reads a passage of bbmars’ account. “I was seeing his friend at the time, so I thought he was just looking out for me.”
Kenny allegedly had ulterior motives. “When we got to the hotel, I passed out immediately,” bbmars wrote. “I remember he kept waking me up asking if he could have sex with me. I kept repeating ‘no.’ I remember it was hard for me to even keep voicing ‘no’ due to the state I was in. I tried to remind him; I was seeing his friend. That didn’t seem to deter him.”
After continuing to pressure her, Kenny allegedly told her to leave his hotel room and asked why she came in the first place. “I’ve blamed myself for not getting up and leaving, but I also try to remember how intoxicated I was, and how it was a struggle to even move,” bbmars went on. “I felt sick, I just wanted to sleep. I could barely stay awake. He had sex with me. I didn’t resist because I was half conscious.”
The account offered up by bbmars is not the only backlash to surface in the wake of Kenny’s Facebook post. Sorinda Demeter, whose screen shot of a text message conversation with Kenny was among the first allegations shared by Weibsstück, has now alleged that Shambhala’s organizers ignored reports about the artist’s behavior.
“I reported Billy Kenny three years ago to Shambhala,” Demeter wrote in a Facebook post. “Another woman reported him three years ago… and Shambhala booked him on the roster three more times, despite knowing that he is a dangerous sexual predator who has harmed several women between Edmonton and Calgary alone.”
Billy Kenny has not publicly responded to bbmars’ allegations at the time of writing. A spokesperson on Kenny’s behalf has yet to respond to Selector‘s request for comment.
UPDATE: San Francisco record label Dirtybird have issued the following statement:
We have heard the statements made against Billy Kenny. As a label and community, DIRTYBIRD takes these extremely seriously and we do not condone anything relating to assault in any form, be it physical, verbal, or sexual abuse. Dirtybird will no longer be working with Billy.
