Homewrecker Dropped by Label for Multiple Sexual Misconduct Allegations Involving Minors
Update, 11:20am EDT, June 24: Allegations have now come out against Homewrecker drummer Matt Izzi. Additionally, everyone except Izzi has quit the band.
Original story:
Multiple women have accused Homewrecker frontman Matt Barnum of sexual misconduct when they were minors, resulting in the band being dropped by their label, Good Fight.
The allegations began early Saturday morning, June 21, when a Twitter user going by the name Riley shared a story of Barnum’s efforts to seduce her when she was just 16 years old (he was 24). Several other women have since come out with similar stories — many of them reposted on the Instagram account @survivingmattbarnum — that detail Barnum’s grooming, manipulation, solicitation of nude selfies and efforts to have sex with young women, most of them under 18, and in some cases even rape.
Riley’s Twitter thread reads as follows:
“there’s something i’ve been wanting to talk about pretty much since i was 16 and it happened. and then i turned 19 and realized how fucked up it was. and then i turned 23 and realized i legitimately have a responsibility to speak out about it and stop it from happening again.
“lately a lot has been going on to where i actually feel supported speaking out and i literally cannot hold my tongue anymore bc the person in question knows what is coming for him and i know others will come forward if i speak out
“so i’m posting this sincerely hoping that anyone else who has been groomed, targeted, and affected by this individual’s predatory behavior in any way will feel comfortable coming forward to me and knowing they have an entire community supporting them
“matt barnum from @Homewrecker_OH solicited nudes from me when i was 16 and he was 24~ in exchange for a bottle of whiskey even though he is “straightedge” and then manipulated me for several years which is nothing compared to what he did to other girls in our local scene.
“i know for a FACT that he did worse things to YOUNGER girls than me in our community at the time. after several years i called him out for it but there is a serious pattern there and we have all been silent for far to long
“i never wanted to be the first person to come forward about this but i literally cannot stand by anymore and sit with what happened without addressing it. sorry to my friends who may be affected by this but you know who he is and denied it.
“please if you need someone to talk to i am here for you. there is also an instagram account (not run by me) dedicated to sharing stories of what matt has done https://instagram.com/survivingmattbarnum?igshid=1tjpjul6233d1 …
“matt targeted me and any other young and impressionable girl who came to shows and used his position as a founder of the ashtabula DIY scene and a member of Homewrecker as a way to manipulate us. People quit his band because of who he is and i expect them to speak up about this.
“obviously it’s like 4am but this is normal hours for me. what happened to me is nothing compared to some of the other shit he’s done but even my story should be enough to show you who he is.
“from a friend on insta, pretty weird how matt barnum would act like being straight edge made him a better person than everyone else and then do shit like this”
Good Fight issued a statement this morning announcing they had parted ways with Homewrecker:
“It has come to our attention that multiple women have accused Matt Barnum of Homewrecker of sexual misconduct while underage over the last number of years.
“Good Fight Music is no longer associated with Homewrecker effective immediately. We will never tolerate, condone, or stay silent about sexual aggression on our roster, especially towards minors. BELIEVE WOMEN.“
You can view a sampling of other accusations from the @survivingmattbarnum Instagram account below.
