Brand New at Madison Square Garden
photo by Amanda Hatfield

another woman details sexual misconduct allegations against Jesse Lacey

After Jesse Lacey of Brand New was accused of sexual misconduct by a woman named Nicole Elizabeth Garey and other similar stories began to arise, he issued a general statement admitting that he “caused pain and harm to a number of people” and added “I am sorry for how often I have not afforded women the respect, support, or honesty that they deserved, and which is their right.”

A second woman has now come forth with her own detailed account of sexual misconduct allegations against Jesse. Speaking to Pitchfork, Emily Driskilll, now 32, describes meeting Jesse in 2002 when she was 16. She told Pitchfork that the first time they met was for an interview and that Jesse made “lots of comments about [her] body and breasts.” She said that he began soliciting her for nude photos when she was 17, and subjected her to “countless masturbatory video chat sessions” and “attempted to manipulate [her] into engaging in sexual situations with other people, on camera, for his viewing pleasure.”

She also describes a specific incident that took place in Austin:

Any time Driskill refused his demands, she says Lacey would threaten to restrict her access to the band. “There were a lot of instances where if I didn’t want to participate, or if I didn’t want to take my clothes off and take photos, he would say, ‘OK, well, I guess I won’t be seeing you the next time I come to Houston,’” Driskill says.

When Driskill was 18, she drove with her brother and friend from Houston to Austin to see Brand New perform at Emo’s. Lacey then took her to the green room of the venue under the pretense of getting his things, she says. He closed the door behind them, pushed her against the wall, and kissed and touched her in ways she didn’t want. “I was walking around with him to find his backpack, and then it went from zero to 60 when he closed the door,” she says. “He pinned me against the wall with his knee between my legs.” She describes the incident as one of “several instances of coercion during physically intimate situations” with Lacey. The two kept in touch, primarily online and occasionally in person, until Driskill was 23.

You can read the rest of Pitchfork’s article here.

Brand New cancelled their remaining tour dates after live member and opening act Kevin Devine pulled out. Kevin also issued his own statement about the allegations against Jesse. Opening band Martha had dropped off the shows as well.