Last August, Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters was accused of sexual abuse by three women, which he denied in a social media post as “false accusations and innuendo.” The charges were first reported in Pitchfork, and it was revealed in a follow-up report that seven additional women have come forward with accusations that the musician of additional sexual misconduct, including one who says, “He raped me. I said, ‘please don’t.’ And he did.”
The seven women shared incidents that range from 2017 back to the 1990s, and most use pseudonyms or their first name. Pitchfork recounted allegations that include non-consensual nudity and masturbation, unwanted touching, and one claim of nonconsensual intercourse. One woman was 30 years younger than Kozelek.
The publication interviewed the accusers as well as reviewing texts and speaking to friends and family of the women when possible. Pitchfork has detailed accounts of stories from all seven of those women, and many of the stories follow similar trajectories of the encounters with the musician.
Kozelek responded to those new accusations in a statement to Pitchfork, made through his lawyer. It said:
Apparently an effort is being made by those with an agenda to renew and recirculate the same kinds of false allegations and innuendo that were the subject of my prior statement in August 2020. I continue to categorically deny that I engaged in the inappropriate incidents falsely depicted in the media. I intend to vigorously defend myself against these untruthful allegations and to pursue and protect my rights in the event that false and defamatory statements are disseminated or published.
If you or someone you know is suffering from sexual violence, please contact RAINN or call the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
