S. Samuel
Odd Future's Left Brain may be in store for a legal battle as a female photographer claiming she was assaulted by him last month during a New Orleans concert has decided to now press charges.
The victim, Amy Harris, has released a statement addressing the police report.
“It is my understanding that a police report I filed in New Orleans on Friday has now become public knowledge and is being reported on various websites. At this time, I do not wish to discuss the filing of the police report other than to say that, upon further reflection of events of the past week, it is something I needed to do. The week’s events have been extremely upsetting and culminated with an email from an unidentified person threatening to kill me and rape me and my family. While it is certainly possible that the email came from an overzealous fan of Odd Future, and not from the group itself, it has become clear to me that this is a matter for the police. I hope the media will respect my privacy. In that regard, I ask that any questions be directed my attorney, Amy Borlund at Doll Amir & Eley in Los Angeles.” (Statement)
Despite the assault allegation’s seriousness, Harris initially said she would not press charges.
Harris claims she was slapped by rapper Left Brain, real name Vyron Turner, who knocked her camera out of her hands during the group’s performance at the Voodoo Experience on Sunday (30Oct11). Reports suggest Turner took aim at the snappers in the photo pit after Odd Future frontman Tyler, the Creator, voiced his dislike for photographers, insisting the fans should be allowed to stand closer to the stage. Turner is said to have showered the photographers with water, before pushing them and kicking their equipment and allegedly assaulting Harris. Harris has decided against taking legal action against the band, although she admits she felt unfairly targeted. (Chicago Tribune)
Following the incident, Harris addressed what went down.
“I have worked many shows before, and I’ve had to deal with a band flinging water at the photographers, but I never expected this to happen,” Harris told NBC after the incident. “In the pit, the male to female ratio is about 20 to 1. There were way more men in that pit than women.” (Exclaim)
In light of the photographer’s remarks, Odd Future’s publicist, Heathcliff Berru denied the claims.
“There simply is no truth to the accusation floating around the internet,” Berru tells Billboard.com’s The Juice. “It’s no secret that Odd Future has a love/hate relationship with photographers at shows. [It’s] simply because sometimes they are given access the group wishes there fans would have instead. After telling the photographers to clear out multiple times (as they’ve done before) Vyron (Leftbrain) took a swipe at a few cameras, NOT people. To manipulate the situation [and] to insinuate an attack on a woman specifically is careless and manipulative” (The Juice)
Check out some recent Odd Future footage down below:
