Maynard James Keenan Responds to Rape Allegations

Based on the number of e-mails we’ve received about it, you’re likely already aware that earlier this week, an anonymous accuser launched a new Twitter account, IWas17HeWas36, to level some damning allegations against Maynard James Keenan — specifically, that he raped her in 2000, when she was seventeen years old. And I know a lot of you have wondered why we weren’t reporting on it before. I’m going to address that momentarily, but first, let’s not bury the lede: in a new tweet, Maynard has denied the accusations.

https://twitter.com/mjkeenan/status/1012425461845016576

So take that for what it’s worth.

As for why MetalSucks didn’t report on this story sooner, I’ll tell you: we were, and are, in the middle of an investigation. Previous instances of outing sexual predators have involved legal court documents, or the victim using her actual identity when she made the allegations, or multiple allegations from separate sources. None of those things, to the best of our knowledge, were true here (which isn’t to say we don’t completely understand why the victim has been so protective of her identity). There’s a Reddit thread suggesting Maynard has a history of sleeping with young groupies, and includes at least one story in which he allegedly exposed himself to an adolescent female fan, but that story ends with the young woman in question declining and Maynard not touching her.

It’s not that we didn’t believe the victim, and it’s not that we were protecting Maynard because we’re such big fans of Tool and A Perfect Circle. We’re doing due diligence (also known as “our jobs”). We will share our findings when we’re ready. I still don’t know if those findings will suggest Maynard is guilty or innocent. I don’t think I’ve done this situation any justice summing it up in a few paragraphs. So on behalf of Vince and myself, we really appreciate your patience while we continue to work, and hopefully we’ll have more to tell you one way or the other soon. Thank you.