Shamir announced this morning that he was pulling down his "Straight Boy" music video from YouTube after his director and co-star has been accused of sexual assault, writing:
The actor/director mentioned is Ryan Carpenter, of Tampa, Florida, who Shamir met two years ago in Brooklyn. Speaking to OUT, Shamir explained that he was checking his YouTube comments last night when he stumbled on this one, accusing Carpenter of rape:
The comment shook Shamir, who says he immediately reached out to Carpenter for a comment and was met with "nonchalance."
"A while back he actually told me a story where someone accused him of abuse in college, but apparently it was all a misunderstanding," Shamir told OUT. "He talked it out with the school police, and the authorities, and the person, and everything was sorted. I also was with his friend from college, and his friend concurred."
Shamir asked Carpenter if the person making the YouTube comment was referring to the same story Carpenter had told him earlier. Carpenter's response: "I guess. I don't know."
"I cut all ties with him, told him I was going to get rid of the video, took down the video, and made my statement this morning," Shamir continued. "I said [to him], 'This is horrible. You're obviously an alleged rapist. I don't know your reputation back home because we met in Brooklyn.' We filmed the video in LA, and I went to Florida once, so I don't know his reputation. I didn't know. I wouldn't have worked with him."
Shamir made clear that he was grateful to the survivors who have spoken up against Carpenter, saying: "I want to say thank you to the survivors, and to the survivors for letting me know. It's obviously a horrible situation, and I'm just glad the person was honest and allowed me to be on top of it."
Update: Shamir posted a new, acoustic video for "Straight Boy" this afternoon:
