In May 2018, just as BROCKHAMPTON was picking up steam off the release of their Saturation trilogy, one of its members, Ameer Vann was accused of sexual misconduct. The allegations first arose on Twitter and then were later detailed in a Pitchfork piece. Two of Vann's previous partners came forward to say that he was both emotionally and physically abusive. Vann responded at the time that he “never criminally harmed anyone or disrespected their boundaries” and “never had relations with a minor or violated anybody’s consent," but his removal from BROCKHAMPTON was announced a few days after the allegations surfaced.
Vann appeared on Sway In The Morning this week to participate in his first interview since the fallout. While he released an EP titled Emmanuel in September, the majority of his conversation with Sway focused on the allegations and their aftermath. Vann spoke about how he went home to live with his mother in Texas after being kicked out of the group. This period sent him into a deep depression and he experienced suicidal thoughts. He decided to admit himself for hospitalization, which he said he emerged from with a better understanding of his behavioural flaws and a commitment to working through them.
However, when Sway brought up the allegations that Vann had choked, bit and injured a woman against her will in a sexual context, he denies them. "That's not true. Our relationship, or the romantic relationship or the physical relationship that we shared was completely consented and everything that we engaged in together was agreed upon," he said. When asked whether he is in contact with any of the members of BH, Vann said that he had spoken to Kevin Abstract and Jon Nunes recently, but he believes the onus is on the other members to reach out to him if they wish to talk. When Sway suggested that it might be Vann's responsibility to reach out given he is the one at fault, Vann explained that he felt abandoned by the group that was aware of his issues before the allegations were revealed. He felt that they should have stood by him as he better himself, rather than abruptly sending him home from tour.
