Otep singer Otep Shamaya talked with MetalSucks about the alleged sexual assault committed against her by Terror Universal‘s singer Rott. She revealed of the incident itself:
“This was during the meet and greet. We had the entire floor lined up waiting for their opportunity to come out and maybe buy a t-shirt or take a photograph. Suddenly I hear from off in the corner, “What the fuck is this?” And then some guy who I don’t even know… I was never introduced to him at all, they wear masks on stage and they never took the time to introduce themselves. I know Dave [Chavarri, also of Ill Nino], their drummer, I’ve known him for a long time, he and I are friends.
But this gentleman, the singer for Terror Universal, I’ve never met before. He pushed through our security, pushed past our merchandise guy and walked right up to me and shoved his hand between my legs. I don’t want to get too graphic because it’s extremely upsetting and emotionally disturbing, but he shoved his hand between my legs and tried to force his fingers through my pants. At that time I shoved him away.
I stand on a chair and put one leg up on the merch table so I can reach, because I’m 5 foot 5 and I’ve got a lot of 6 foot 5 fans. In order for me to get good pictures with them I need to be up higher than I am sitting down. Plus I don’t want to sit down when I meet my fans; I want to meet them face to face and shake their hand. So I put one leg up on the table and one leg on the chair and he just walked right up and did that.
He was obviously drunk, which is still no excuse, but still. He had done similar things to the male members of my band. He grabbed every member of my band’s penis while they were carrying gear. He would just walk up to them and not just paint-brush it, but physically grab a hold of it. They were telling him to chill out.
After that happened I told them that was it, they were off the tour. I called my tour manager over and I said they’re done. Security dragged him out of the venue. His band put him in a van and from what I understand drove him away from the venue as quick as possible because they were afraid I was gonna call the police.
I got calls from Dave, the drummer, who is also their manager, and he was begging me, “Please don’t do that, we’ll fire him, we’ll get the singer from Thira (the other opening band on the tour), please don’t kick us off the tour.” I said, “I’m sorry, I can’t do that, I can’t take that chance, I’ve been violated.”
Shamaya again disputed the tour organizer’s claims that her band dropping off ‘The Civil Unrest Tour‘ as a result of Terror Universal being added was financially motivated as well, adding:
“I have been playing music for 14 years, I’ve got seven album, I’ve written seven books. I do voice-over work as a voice-over actor: I was just featured in the last Hobbit movie, I was on the Playstation game The Last Of Us, I’ve done other films, I have a merchandise company. I’m a working class artist, I do very well, and I don’t need to extort anybody for anything.
The idea that I would use such a heinous act as a lie to try and get money is so upsetting and just ridiculous. And again, this is what victims have to face when they come out and tell the truth and this is why so many woman hide it: because they don’t want this kind of unwanted attention”
Shamaya did acknowledge that upon Terror Universal‘s addition to ‘The Civil Unrest Tour‘, she initially consulted with her agent and lawyer to negotiate a restraining order of sorts against Rott, in a bid to “salvage” the tour. She also claimed that Chavarri planned to fire Rott after the incident, though that apparently didn’t happen. She further mentioned that she is still weighing her legal options regarding the assault. The controversy aside, ‘The Civil Unrest Tour‘ will continue, albeit with a reconfigured lineup.
