Filipino indie band Jensen and The Flips issued an apology this morning amid accounts of alleged sexual harassment by its members.
In the statement posted on Facebook, the band acknowledged the claims and apologized for past actions.
“An apology will never be enough to make up for all of the things that have been done in the past,” it reads. “We know the things we did wrong; rest assured we have and will continue to work on being better individuals moving forward to ensure that such situations will not happen again.”
https://www.facebook.com/jensenxflips/photos/a.225606577616707.1073741830.220718591438839/834634356713923/?type=3&theater
The band also mentioned how they have lost production partners and supporters after the allegations were made public last Tuesday.
Yesterday, online music magazine Vandals On The Wall removed the band from their upcoming The Rest Is Noise Year-End event where the band was supposed to play.
In a tweet by Vandals On The Wall, they said that they “do not and will not condone, tolerate, or enable any vile or reprehensible behavior that exploits and abuses women.”
OUR OFFICIAL STATEMENT. pic.twitter.com/PVFveIKd1G
— VandalsEntertainment (@vandalsondwall) November 22, 2017
Allegations of sexual harassment were made public on Tuesday when Adrienne Onday, under the Twitter account @_tapsilog shared a message with an anonymous woman who said the band’s guitarist Sam Valenia forced himself on her.
https://twitter.com/_tapsilog/status/932987855269380097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fcnnphilippines.com%2Fentertainment%2F2017%2F11%2F22%2Fjensen-and-the-flips-sud-sexual-harassment-allegations-up-fair-up-babaylan-vandals-on-the-wall-the-rest-is-noise-year-end.html
“I used to think that Sammy was the type of friend you’d always be safe with. Then during one gig, I had dinner with them and he said he would pay for everything including the [taxi] fair,” the message reads in Filipino.
“I thought our other friends would be coming. When we were about to ride the cab, he said that it would only be the two of us. It started to feel sketchy but since I trusted him, I still joined him.”
The message then continues to say that Valenia repeatedly tried to kiss the woman even though she was already pushing him away. “But imagine, he’s so heavy and I’m so small,” the message reads.
The next day, Valenia admitted on Twitter that the account really did happen.
“Yup. This is me,” he said. “I am really sorry to all the people I offended and who are disappointed in me because of this post and because of what I did. I respect yall’s opinions. I know this ain’t enough but again, I am really sorry.”
Yup. Ako to.
I am really sorry sa mga taong na-offend ko at na-disappoint sa akin because of this post and because of what I did. I respect yall's opinions. I know this ain't enough but again, I am really sorry. https://t.co/ijfPbZAhsc
— sarcasam (@SamuelValenia) November 21, 2017
This first accusation sparked others to share their experiences with other members of the band. Onday, the Twitter account’s admin said Jensen Gomez, the band’s vocalist, also sent her an inappropriate text that used emojis to allude to sex.
https://twitter.com/_tapsilog/status/932950786840993792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rappler.com%2Fentertainment%2Fnews%2F189229-jensen-and-the-flips-the-rest-is-noise-sexual-harassment
She then shared another screencap of an anonymous message that described Gomez as touchy. “He almost kissed my friend suddenly on the lips when she greeted him.”
https://twitter.com/_tapsilog/status/932963739065761793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rappler.com%2Fentertainment%2Fnews%2F189229-jensen-and-the-flips-the-rest-is-noise-sexual-harassment
These allegations have pushed others to share instances of alleged sexual harassment done by other local bands including Ang Bandang Shirley, Sud, and MilesExperience.
Ang Bandang Shirley has issued an apology while Sud and MilesExperience have not as of this article’s posting.
The accusations of sexual harassment against these local Philippine bands come a month after the #MeToo campaign against sexual violence against women began last month. The hashtag blew up on social media as women were encouraged to share personal stories of sexual violence on Twitter after more women came forward to accuse American film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment.
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