Hace menos de un mes la artista Melanie Martínez era acusada de acoso sexual por su ex mejor amiga Tomothy Heller.
Tal vez conozcas a Melanie Martínez, o tal vez no. La cantante se hizo de notoriedad después de aparecer en la tercera temporada del famoso reality musical The Voice, y desde entonces encantó con su peculiar estilo de interpretar canciones famosas como “Toxic” de Britney Spears.
Sin embargo, la carrera de Melanie nunca logró impulsarse al grado de otros participantes de programas musicales como Kelly Clarkson o Jennifer Hudson y quedó relegada al circuito indie musical. Con varios éxitos de mediano alcance como “Dollhouse”, “Pity Party” y “Mr.s Potato Head”, Melanie está ahora bajo una luz en la que jamás habría deseado estar.
Over the last few months of 2017, a number of performers have come forward to tell the public about their experiences with sexual assault in the entertainment industry. Those accused of misconduct, assault, and harassment have ranged from small actors to big-shot producers, but almost all were male. Almost, but not all: female singer Timothy Heller recently accused alternative pop singer Melanie Martinez of assaulting her.
Tras la polémica que invade a Hollywood sobre los casos de acoso y abuso sexual por parte de Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman y Ed Westwick, ahora es a ella a quien se le acusa de estos terribles actos.
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Las Acusaciones de Timothy Heller
Hace un par de días, la cantante Timothy Heller escribió en redes sociales una carta abierta y denuncia contra Martínez a quien acusa de haber abusado de ella.
En el texto, Heller relata la manera en la que supuestamente Melanie abusaba de ella, desde tocamientos mientras dormían hasta uso de su “poder” para practicarle sexo oral y utilizar juguetes sexuales sin su consentimiento. Dije que no repetidamente.
On December 4, Heller retweeted screenshots of text she had previously written detailing her experience being orally raped and raped with a sex toy by a friend. "When I wrote this story about my assault, I initially wasn't going to make the abuser [known]," Heller tweeted about the story. Although Martinez has since denied the accusations multiple times, the tweet still ignited public interest, and a number of media outlets covered the allegations.
Heller spoke out again the next day, telling Newsweek that “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.”
Timothy Heller, una música cuya banda Dresses actuó con Martínez en 2014, compartió detalles sobre la amistad. "I would do almost anything for her." "This was my best friend. She took me in, which I was so grateful for. I felt like I owed her my life," Heller wrote. "I had my own problems, but if I could focus on her life, I could put off dealing with my own inner turmoil for just a bit longer."
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Heller escribió que, durante los dos días que pasaron juntas en aquella ocasión, Martínez la presionó continuamente para tener relaciones sexuales hasta que sus defensas fueron diezmadas. "One night during a sleepover, she became increasingly interested in my sexual preferences. As someone who had previously been through sexual abuse, sex is hard for me to talk about," Heller wrote. "I was obviously uncomfortable, but she was my best friend, so I tried to be open about it."
Heller acusó a Martínez de practicarle sexo oral y de penetrarla con un juguete sexual. "I never said yes. "But she used her power over me and broke me down. Just so there is no confusion, I was molested by my best friend."
Heller initially wrote that she hadn't planned to name her abuser but that she thought it was important to be open about it. "The only reason I do this now is because I'm hoping because of recent events, people will believe me," Heller wrote. "Friendship does not equal consent. Silence doesn't equal consent.
La Respuesta de Melanie Martínez
Sobre esto, Melanie Martínez contestó: “Estos horrorizada y triste sobre las declaraciones hechas por Timothy Heller esta noche. Lo que ella y yo compartimos fue una amistad cercana por un periodo de tiempo. Nos encontramos en un punto de nuestras vidas en las que ambas comenzaban con nuestras carreras e intentamos ayudarnos la una a la otra. Ambas tuvimos dolor al enfrentarnos a nuestros demonios y los nuevos caminos que estábamos forjando, pero en verdad sentí que las dos nos estábamos ayudando a salir adelante. Ella nunca dijo que no a lo que elegimos hacer. Y aunque nos separamos, le mando amor y luz siempre”.
"Piggyback": Una Canción Como Respuesta
Melanie Martínez lanzó una canción llamada Piggyback que habla sobre cómo se está destruyendo su carrera debido a este escándalo.
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En ella, Melanie canta: “Ahora tratas de matar mi reputación por algo de fama. ¿Qué haces? Intenté ayudarte con tu mierda. Te incité a que trabajases en ello.”
El Debate sobre Agresoras Femeninas
Este caso, sea cierto o no, muestra que, en el mundo, el abuso puede venir tanto de hombres como mujeres, aunque estos últimos son los que terminan incurriendo más en este tipo de actos reprobables.
While we may never know exactly what transpired between Heller and Martinez, Heller’s decision to speak out points to a very real phenomenon: women can be perpetrators of sexual assault, too.
A 2017 study found that female perpetrators may not be as rare as people tend to assume they are. And yet the notion that women are rarely assailants persists. A simple Google search bolsters this: For example, searching the term “men accused of assault” reveals a long list of results featuring those from Hollywood recently accused, whereas the term “women accused of assault” reveals only three articles among the first 50 results that are actually related to women abusers (the rest were about male abusers).
One woman shared her personal experience feeling silenced after being assaulted by a woman at a party in an anonymous 2015 XO Jane post. When the author told the hostess of the party what had happened after the incident, she wrote, the hostess offered her a safe room but did not ask the alleged perpetrator to leave.
“Those I confided in seemed completely unimpressed by the seriousness of the matter - from my friends, to my therapist, to my then-boyfriend,” the writer reflects in the piece. “These people are generally progressive and compassionate people, but they couldn’t seem to grasp the terrible brutality of the rape because my rapist was a woman.” The author goes on to say that she did not file a police report because after consulting with an acquaintance on the police force, she learned that her efforts would be fruitless.
It seems that at least part of our general inability to recognize that women are capable of committing assault is because we have perpetuated the idea that women are solely victims of misogyny. But this fails to recognize or validate the problematic reality that women internalize misogyny, too. The media depictions that enforce the idea that women are sex objects for one’s enjoyment is not taught only to men, but to everyone: We all consume media.
Estado Actual de la Denuncia
Hasta el momento, no ha habido una denuncia formal hacia Martínez y las cosas parece que pasarán sin pena ni gloria en un momento en el que las denuncias están a la orden del día.