Making allegations of sexual assault can be incredibly liberating for people who have experienced it. However, it is not okay to make fake claims about something so serious especially when it comes to the careers of the famous…
[CAUTION: This Article Talks About Sexual Assault]
The last few days have been troublesome for Hollywood as more allegations of sexual assault have made against a number of stars including Ansel Elgort which turned out to be accurate to a degree, Justin Bieber who is threatening legal action and has proved proof that he never did anything, amongst others. Then there’s the whole thing with the cast of Riverdale and Australian boy band member Michael Clifford of 5 Seconds of Summer fame. However, it’s beginning to get ridiculous when fake claims are made.
Now, we stand against sexual assault and always will 100% believe survivors. But, isn’t it a bit of a coincidence that all these allegations are coming out now? We’re going to look into these reports and see if there’s actual truth to them. We are going into this investigation with an open mind. We’re not calling anybody out. However, we just want everyone to see that making fake claims is not the way.
Fake Claims #1: Cole Sprouse, Lili Reinhart, KJ Apa, And Vanessa Morgan – Part 1
A woman named ‘Victoria’ using the Twitter handle @Victori66680029, claims to have been sexually assaulted by Cole Sprouse who plays Jughead Jones on the hit CW series, Riverdale in 2013. This user has only 130 followers and no profile photo. Also, they created the account in June this year. Okay, just because they have this many follows doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. However, we need to look at the obvious facts that are sitting before us. This account was anonymous given the limited information in the bio and is still active.
‘Victoria’ claims that Sprouse touched her breasts and became aggressive when she invited back to his room. She also says she told him no but he didn’t stop. Now, do we believe this? We’re not sure. Cole had gone on an acting hiatus from 2012 to 2017 when he was cast as Jughead in Riverdale and while he did attend NYU he says the facts of these ‘events were factually untrue’. He has also defended his fellow cast mates.
Cole’s ex-girlfriend and co-star Lili Reinhart has stated that the person who wrote similar tweets about her were in fact fake:
Writing false accusations from an anonymous twitter account is damaging and uncalled for. People like this have sick fantasies in their heads of wanting to cancel others for no good reason. The account and posts written about Lili have since been deleted.
Fake Claims #1: Cole Sprouse, Lili Reinhart, KJ Apa, And Vanessa Morgan – Part 2
KJ Apa and Vanessa Morgan were not spared from these fake claims. While Apa and Morgan haven’t responded to the allegations their castmates have defended them and each other. However, Vanessa has retweeted her co-stars tweets on the issue.
Fake Claims #2: Michael Clifford
Michael Clifford is the lead guitar player in the Australian boy band 5 Seconds of Summer and even he has been accused of sexual assault. Various fake accounts have claimed that the musician of harassment when the group toured with then boy band One Direction in 2013 and 2014, according to 5Why.
The fake claims were started by a user going the name ‘Sophie’ who claimed Clifford put his hand up her mini skirt when she was fourteen. She even alleges he said disgusting things in her ear which were encouraged by his bandmates.
Many of the accounts which were created to spread these lies about ‘MC’ were deleted. Michael has since put out a statement via Twitter:
We Believe Victims, Not Fake Accounts
Before you all retweet this and call us out for not believing the victims, we do believe them, BUT we do NOT agree with people who choose to fake their claims. Ever heard the phrase, “Innocent until proven guilty”? This applies in this situation. If multiple people with similar claims came forward from actual social media accounts, then yes, we’d believe them.
However, what does deleting of these accounts tell you? First, these people are NOT victims. They’re just looking to stir up trouble and cancel whoever they want because they know there will be those who believe their fake claims.
Yes, you should ALWAYS believe those making the allegations, but you need to think sensibly. Look for clues to see if these people are legit. For example, look at when the account was created. Are there any other tweets? Is there a bio? A profile picture? Small things like that can make a difference in determining real from fake.
Another thing you need to look out for is how many accounts the ‘fake’ profile is following. People will follow anyone if they tell a compelling story.
Why Would People Want To Create Fake Claims?
People have nothing better to do than to fake claims about something as serious as sexual assault. They might also have twisted fantasies that they want to play out. For example, they may have a massive crush on a particular cast member and they want to cancel that person because they [the actor] might be with someone else and want to ruin their career as a result.
The possibilities are basically endless. We’ve already had a surge of people come forward when the scandal surrounding Harvey Weinstein broke in 2017. The #MeToo Movement has been a massive success in outing heavy weights that were silencing their victims by threatening their careers.
Sexual assault is an extremely difficult subject to talk about for survivors and when people do come forward, they are often not believed. Making accusations by creating fake social media profiles to get follows, retweets, and like is NOT the way to go.
It takes one troll to make people not believe true victims. If you’re bored and think making accusations that are obviously not true is fun, think again. You could be destroying someone’s livelihood and mostly likely your own if the allegations are not true and you end up getting sued for your stupid actions.
If you need help with your mental health, please contact emergency services in your home country.
