Teenage Girl Alleges Possessed’s Jeff Becerra Asked for Nude Photos, He Responds
A 16-year-old California girl is accusing 56-year-old Possessed frontman Jeff Becerra of engaging in inappropriate conversations online and asking her for nude photos. The allegations are buoyed by leaked screenshots and an audio clip that’s recently been making the rounds online.
Sophia, whose last name is being withheld because she’s still a minor, recently recounted her alleged interactions with Becerra in a recent episode of the Kill The Posers podcast. In her appearance, she said that she initially began speaking with Becerra out of a deep admiration for him as a musician, having picked up the bass herself.
As conversations continued, she recounted that he was always very complimentary of her looks and interest in music, but those chats eventually turned into something more. And while she admitted that she may have been harboring a little bit of a crush — especially on Jeff in his younger years — and that’s why she might have played along with it at first, she said the whole situation’s been a lot to deal with.
“He’s just a freak I guess. A freakazoid. I don’t know, man. This shit is all just insane to me because I really didn’t expect any of this stuff to happen because he’s somebody I really looked up to and it’s just really disappointing because all my friends knew that I loved that band.”
In some of the screenshots, which we’ve shared below, you can read what looks like Becerra being flirtatious, calling her his “little Death metal Barbie”, and asking her to show something “as long a you keep it secret.”
“I do recall him saying multiple times, ‘don’t screenshot these messages because this could lead up to something bad.’ So that implies that he knew that what he was doing was not a good thing and something he shouldn’t be doing. Something that could ruin his entire life and his entire career.”
Though she claims she wasn’t the person to leak the screenshots, having initially shared them with friends and her boyfriend at the time, she said she just wants to make sure people were aware that this sort of thing is going on in the metal scene.
“My endgame is just to spread awareness because I feel like there’s a lot of this stuff happening in the scene… I think it’s really disappointing and puts a lot of dirt on our name. I think people like this don’t really have any room to be in the community at all because scumbags like this are just — you’re making us look bad.”
In the interest of fairness, we reached out to Jeff Becerra himself to get his side of what allegedly went down between him and Sophia. According to the musician, he maintained that he felt the relationship was strictly platonic when began talking this past August, but things slowly got out of hand over time.
Rather than attempt to paraphrase his words and potentially mix something up, we’ve opted to share his entire unedited statement below, along with a screenshot of his own that he says shows him trying to cut it off:
“There is something that I want to address with you before it gets out of hand. And hopefully clear things up. Or at the very least, add some perspective.
“During the time I was in hospital or shortly after, I responded and had a general correspondence with a 16-year-old fan and her boyfriend. Those of you who know me know that I have never had a problem chatting with any fans. I chat with people from all levels of society, backgrounds, and ages. And up til now I have never had any problems.
“I have known this particular person, who is coming out with allegations directed at me, since around August. I was always polite, kind, and proper. We had been texting each other with metal-related stuff. I wanted to help her and her boyfriend out with their band, and I gave them VIP tickets to my show. But in the few days directly after my surgery (in October) this person really started making off-color comments. Several times I said I’m not comfortable with this and let her know as kindly and gently as possible. I’m old enough to be her father, or grandfather for that matter. It was my mistake for not just saying, ‘hey enough’ and cutting it off at the very first sign. It was irresponsible for me not to, I did not want to hurt her feelings. I tried to sort of ease out of the conversation looking for an out so I could remove myself entirely from the situation on multiple occasions. I want to set the record straight because the way this is being portrayed online does not accurately show our interactions.
“My mistake was trying to be too cavalier about it, making too many jokes, especially when taken out of context and cut together it can seem damning.
“Keep in mind that these conversations were happening in between sleepless nights and pain filled days directly after my surgeries and during the time I was in the hospital or shortly afterwards and I wasn’t really focusing on it, but, I did tell her that it had to stop, and I was going to block her if she continued to send me messages. Beyond that, I was told after the fact by those close to me that I was sending them ramblings and nonsense’s during this time as well when I was heavily on pain medications. While she persistently messaged me to continue talking, I said no, I am blocking her.
“I felt this was a fan interaction and I did not feel as though I had done anything to make her feel threatened or uncomfortable based on the flow of the conversation. I never asked for anything or tried to pressure her into anything. She kept trying to get me to agree to text her something to the effect of a relationship plan of action which is OBVIOUSLY out of the question. Up until this point our conversations were always extremely light and proper.
“Right after I blocked her, she had connected with my ex-girlfriend who has a history of trying to paint me as negatively as humanly possible without substantiation. She chose to start publicly sending out calculated screenshots that were craftily strung together and wildly out of context. My ex-girlfriend also started spreading rumors about me and trying to create a false narrative back then, and a couple more times in between then and now. Lots of drama. And up until now, her motives have been more than transparent because people know me pretty well and because I do talk a lot and say ridiculous out of pocket things that are funny to me but not meaningful in any way. They’ve easily seen right through it.
“I’m also seeing a LOT of false narratives and outright lies. But I want to lay all doubts to rest and let you know that I am not and never have been anything but legitimate. I have been on this earth 56 years now and I’ve never had any problems of this kind, whatsoever. I worked my entire life and made my name and band around my exemplary reputation, my love of Metal, my love for my fans and my supporters. I’m a family man with two wonderful children. Many of you may not know this but other than touring and doctor’s appointments, I haven’t left the house for well over 15 years. Because of my condition I’m bedridden except for when I tour or go to doctor’s appointments. It is beyond ridiculous to think that I’d be chasing around young girls in my condition or that I would EVER want to, by any means. Never in a million years would I try to sneak around with a 16-year-old kid, I saw her as a fan.
“I am gonna end this by saying this. I know in my heart of hearts that I’ve made a mistake, coming from a place of harmless humor and the drive to recognize fans as friends, when I should be more mindful of the impression I give to the people I respond to, as I value the connection with my community above almost all else.
“I understand the perception of me and my actions and how I’ve disappointed my audience. I understand now that connecting with any and every fan that I can is irresponsible, not always helpful and can create an uncomfortable situation. I am sorry for the discomfort I have left with her and with all of you. Knowing that this is not a matter to take lightly, I can only say that no matter what happens going forward, I will have learned and continue to be a better man the best I can. My intentions were clear and never had any ill intent.
“My music is everything to me. I have put my entire life into my music. And all I wanna do is play for you and continue with this life that never seems to happen. And to those who have defended me, thank you, you are the best and the reason I keep going. Thank you for being so brave and caring. But first I gotta get well and get back to resting and recuperating. ❤️????
“~Stay Blessed, Stay Possessed-~Jeff~”