Jensen and the Flips, Sud respond to sexual misconduct claims

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Indie band Jensen and the Flips has issued a statement on November 23 in response to claims of them sexually harassing and behaving inappropriately towards women.

The band apologized for their actions and added that they knew an apology would not be enough.

“An apology will never be enough to make up for all of the things that have been done in the past. 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,” they said.

“Trust was lost with productions, event organizers, partners and supporters,” the band added. “We know that this is hard to rebuild, and [we] respect their decisions regarding established commitments with Jensen and the Flips.

Jensen and the Flips was one of many bands named in a Twitter thread started by University of the Philippines (UP) sociology student Adrienne Onday (@_tapsilog) in an effort to talk about the misogyny and predatory behavior she experienced while following the local indie music scene. (READ: Jensen and the Flips dropped from gig lineup after sexual harassment claims)

In DMs to Onday that she reposted on the thread, women came forward with their own accounts of being on the receiving end of sexually inappropriate behavior from band members. Aside from Jensen and the Flips, members from Sud and MilesExperience were also named. Ang Bandang Shirley was also mentioned in the thread.

Following the emergence of the Twitter thread, Jensen and the Flips was dropped from the lineup of Vandals on the Wall’s production “The Rest Is Noise,” while Sud has been removed from the UP Fair 2018 lineup.

In their own statement, Ang Bandang Shirley said that it is difficult for the band to address allegations properly on the information they have, though they are discussing further action on the issue. They also gave their support to the victims that came forward.

Sud responds

On Facebook, Sud also posted a response to the claims, apologizing for their actions while noting that some of the allegations against them are not true. They did not specify which claims were false, but said they are “firmly owning up” to the incidents that were true.

“We are sorry. It was never our intention for our actions to come across the way they did. We recognize we have no say whether they were violated by our actions and we put them in a position they were not comfortable in, and for that we will accept the repercussions of what we did,” they said.

“As beings of this generation, everyday is a learning experience. And we will strive to become good examples for everyone involved in the local music scene. And always have an open ear to criticism and call outs.”

The band also said that another matter, involving the band’s bassist Raisa Racelis, has been resolved privately.

Rappler has reached out to MilesExperience for comment. – Rappler.com