In a move that sheds new light on the typical circumstances of sexual assault cases, former The Voice contestant Melanie Martinez has denied accusations that she sexually assaulted her female friend, CNN reports.
Martinez, who competed on the third season of The Voice, addressed friend Timothy Heller’s allegations in a statement shared on Twitter, writing, “What she and I shared was a close friendship for a period of time. We came into each other’s lives as we were both starting out our careers as artists, and we tried to help each other…She never said no to what we chose to do together. And although we parted ways, I am sending her love and light always.”
— CRYBABY (@MelanieLBBH) December 5, 2017
Heller, who is best known for previously being in the band Dresses, also posted her side of the story on Twitter, going into detail about her allegedly inappropriate encounters with Martinez. Sharing that Martinez let her down in the darkest period of her life yet, Heller wrote, “Her power and control over me grew and grew. And I was silenced…Our friendship was about her. The power she had over grew into me having a very hard time saying no to her.”
When I wrote this story about my assault, I initially wasn’t going to make the abuser. But I think it’s important for you all to know this is about Melanie Martinez pic.twitter.com/4PQ5oNI2s9
— Timothy Heller (@timethyheller) December 4, 2017
Having previously experienced sexual abuse, Heller was understandably uncomfortable discussing sex. After smoking weed together one night, Martinez began asking her if she would have sex with her, which she had also discussed with Heller the previous night. Heller, who had a boyfriend at the time, was so “exhausted and confused and high and belittled” that she “just allowed it to happen.” However, earlier in her statement, Heller claimed that she said “no” to Martinez’s suggestions repeatedly before the particular encounter began.
“I was molested by my best friend,” Heller wrote. “It doesn’t matter that I didn’t resist during the action. I had been broken down…I beg you to imagine her role in this being a man. Girls can rape girls. Best friends can rape best friends.”
US Weekly reports that, in response to Martinez’s statement claiming that Heller “never said no” to their actions together, Heller told Newsweek, “I did say ‘no,’ multiple times. But even if I hadn’t, that doesn’t mean I wanted it. She dug her own grave saying, ‘she didn’t say no’. That’s not consent.”
In her statement, Heller said that the two’s friendship ended because Martinez “didn’t have time for me anymore.” Regardless of the circumstances of how the women’s bond broke, Heller’s decision to come forward with her story highlights often lesser-known aspects of sexual assault: being harmed by someone you’re close with, and ending up in a painful situation because of a friend of the same sex’s actions. We applaud her for sharing this emotional story to spread more awareness about sexual assault.