Four Women Have Accused Kool A.D. of Sexual Assault

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Trigger warning: this article details descriptions of sexual assault.

Four women have accused Kool A.D. one of the founding members of Das Racist, of sexual assault, according to a report from Pitchfork.

The publication conducted interviews with the four women: singer Saba Moeel, Kool A.D.'s (real name Victor Vazquez) estranged wife; Marta Martinez, who went to school with Vazquez at Wesleyan University;  Andie Flores, an ex-business associate; and a woman who told her story using a pseudonym. Each woman describes stories of non-consensual sex that took place between 2006 and 2015.

After tweeting about abusive men in the industry last year, Moeel gave an emotional interviewing to Consequence of Sound detailing her experience with Vazquez and others. She expounded on this with Pitchfork. She revealed to the publication that the first time they had sex, back in 2011, it wasn't consensual

I told him straight up, "We can hook up, but I don’t want to have sex tonight," and he said, "OK...He did it anyway, and I just froze, and he was like, "Oh it’s OK, just for a little bit."

Moeel also said he forced her to perform oral sex on him during a New Years Eve party.

Martinez detailed a story where Vazquez penetrated her while she was asleep in 2006; she had to get an abortion, which he paid for. The women who told her story under a pseudonym said she took mushrooms with Vasquez. He went back to her place and performed oral sex on her, despite telling him no. She claims that Vasquez then tried to put his penis in her mouth,

I couldn’t stop shaking my head, like, "No." All I could think is, "My roommates are asleep. I don’t want to disturb their sleep. Why is this happening?" I couldn’t process any of it.

Flores said Vazquez “tried to finger” her in a van while at Bonnaroo festival in 2012. Flores said later that summer, he had unprotected sex with her without her consent:

He put it in, did whatever he wanted to do. Took it out, and fell asleep right away. Like a dumping, was what it felt like.

He then allegedly had non-consensual, unprotected sex with her again in 2015. While talking to Pitchfork she explained why she wasn't more forceful with trying to turn down his advances:

I just didn’t feel totally safe. And I didn’t want him to be mad at me. Which is crazy.

Kool A.D. responded to the claims in an emailed statement to Pitchfork. He confirmed all the sexual encounters but said he thought they were consensual. In the statement he also said he's trying to reevaluate his own behavior:

I know I still have a lot of unlearning to do regarding sex, ego, pride, and masculinity. I’m learning to recognize the toxic ideals of masculinity that I unthinkingly bought into. I compulsively sought validation through sex, selfishly unaware of the harm I was causing. I’m trying to be vigilant about consent, have more direct conversations, check myself and really be present and attentive to the wants and needs of the women in my life and not just in sexual relationships but in my relationships with all women.

Source: Pitchfork