Brand New Frontman Jesse Lacey Accused of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor

Photo: Stephen McGill

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Nov 10, 2017

Following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, a number of sexual assault survivors have come forward to tell their stories of sexual predators in the entertainment industry in hopes of preventing further abuse. Now, Brand New frontman Jesse Lacey is the latest musician to be accused of sexual misconduct.

The accusations against Lacey stem from a public Facebook post from musician and guitar tech Brian Diaz, who asked, "while we are on the topic of outing famous and semi-famous creeps, anyone want to speak up about Jesse Lacey from Brand New?" 

In the thread, a woman named Nicole Elizabeth Garey left a series of comments alleging Lacey solicited nude photographs from her when she was still a minor, in addition to making her watch him masturbate via Skype.

You can find her comments below:

YES. He solicited nudes from me starting when I was 15 and he was 24. Manipulated the hell out of me, demanded specific poses/settings/clothing, demeaned me, and made it clear that my sexuality was the only thing I had to offer. He knew what he was doing was sh*tty so he wouldn't touch me until I was 19. I should've known better by then, but he had screwed me up so much psychologically that all I wanted was his approval. It fucked me up to the point that I STILL have nightmares and wakeup in a sweat. I still breakdown and have panic attacks when people play Brand New in a bar. JESSE LACEY IS A PIECE OF SH*T

OH AND YES HE MADE ME WATCH HIM MASTURBATE ON SKYPE. Apparently that's a common thing with sexual predators. I took screen shots at some point, they're probably on a computer in my basement if I ever really wanted to rehash my past that much (I don't think I do).


You can find Diaz's complete Facebook thread here.

Substream Magazine has also interviewed Garey, who is now 30 and told the publication: "I never wanted to come forward because it didn't seem bad enough and it wasn't physically violent, but sexual abuse comes in different levels and forms and all of it is unacceptable."
 
Garey also said the following:

Unfortunately I didn't realize that until I was around 25 and had spent some time in rehab. It's still hard for me to write this or re-read it and not say, "I thought I was smarter than that." I know deep down that it's more complicated, but it's just gut-wrenching to even think about. How did I allow that to keep happening? Why didn't I speak up sooner? I was a kid, but like all teenagers, I thought I was an adult. I was very wrong.

She added:

It has taken years for me to realize the extent to which his actions have harmed me, and continues to harm me, especially now that I have a daughter of my own. I spent years in denial, I tried to drink it away, I tried to run to different cities, but it always followed me and it always will. I wish him no harm, but I hope that some day he can see the effects of his behaviour and make a change for the sake of our children.

Lacey has not yet responded publicly to the accusations.

UPDATE (11/11, 11 p.m. EST): Lacey has now issued a lengthy statement in response to the allegations. You can find his statement in full over here.

Brand New delivered their latest LP Science Fiction earlier this year.

Ed. Note: A previous version of this story was published while the Substream site was down and without the full quotes Lacey's accuser told the publication. You can now find those above.

 

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