The Gaslamp Killer accused of raping two women in 2013
Update: The DJ and producer has denied the charges in a statement.
A woman has accused DJ and producer The Gaslamp Killer of sexual assault. The accusation comes from Twitter user @chelseaelaynne who wrote a detailed post on October 12 in which she recalled an alleged attack dating back to 2013. In it she accused The Gaslamp Killer, real name William Benjamin Bensussen, of drugging her and her friend at a Los Angeles hotel. Chelsea said she was 20 years old when the alleged attack took place.
Her story takes place at L.A.'s Standard Hotel and begins with The Gaslamp Killer recognizing her friend, named RaeAn, who he had met before. She said they were handed two drinks by the musician and "after that everything is pitch black except for a few sharp but, at the same time, blurry memories."
Chelsea added, in a separate tweet, that she chose to go public with the story after she noticed The Gaslamp Killer had blocked her on Twitter. She said, to her, this is "the clearest admission of his guilt."
On Friday afternoon, The Gaslamp Killer issued a statement on Twitter denying the allegations. Read it below:
Pitchfork obtained a statement from Chelsea on her decision to come forward. Read it below:
i’m coming forward because i need to move on. i never wanted it to be real. i never wanted to be a victim. it was eating at me every day and i would push it as far back as i could. it felt like a constant weight on my shoulders. i would have to see his face on social media or at events and want to scream at the top of my lungs “do you guys know this guy raped me and my best friend?” i finally was able to process that it wasn’t my fault, i’m not less of a person for what happened to me.
i needed to confront it for the sake of my mental health and for the sake of other women. women need to feel safe coming forward with their stories of abuse and if this helps to normalize it and make other women feel safer, the pain from having to relive it in telling it is 100% worth it. i’m not sure what exactly sparked it, but i finally felt strong enough to see myself as a survivor and not as a victim. i truly hope this helps others confront and move on from their own experiences of sexual assault.
The Gaslamp Killer released his latest album Instrumentalepathy in 2016. His former label Brainfeeder issued the following statement on Friday afternoon:
This post was updated on October 13 at 12:36 p.m. to include The Gaslamp Killer's response, at 2:10 p.m. with Chelsea's new statement, and at 4:21 p.m. to include Brainfeeder's statement and to correct Gaslamp Killer's label affiliation.
The allegations against the Gaslamp Killer come as a complete shock. Brainfeeder has always been a safe, inclusive space for artists of all types and we do not condone assault in any shape or form. We did not have any knowledge of the alleged incidents, and condemn any such actions across the board.
Brainfeeder has not released any of the Gaslamp Killer's music in over 5 years, and he is not currently signed to the label.