The Buttertones
photo via The Buttertones' Facebook

Cherry Glazerr's Clem Creevy accuses ex-bandmate & Buttertones bassist of statutory rape

UPDATE: Innovative Leisure, The Buttertones’ label, dropped them following the allegations.

Los Angeles soul/garage/surf/postpunk band The Buttertones have parted ways with their bassist, Sean Redman, following allegations of statutory rape and abuse. The band posted a brief message on Instagram, writing, “We do not condone Sean’s behavior and he is no longer a member of The Buttertones.”

UPDATE: The band has since deleted their Instagram account.

Clementine Creevy, frontwoman of Cherry Glazerr, posted a statement on Instagram, writing, “I want to talk about Sean Redman, bassist of the Buttertones, who also made music with me, and the recent post made by @Chloeraznik about him.” She goes on to say that Redman “started a relationship with me when I was 14 and he was 20. He and I met at a music workshop in Hollywood. I was going into 9th grade. He asked for my number and started texting me. I told him I was 16, to which he replied, ‘Thats okay I still feel like a kid myself most of the time.’ We eventually met up at his apartment where he, much to my surprise, had sex with me. I was not expecting it, nor was I ready. I remember feeling confused and uncomfortable that he was trying to have sex with me but I went along with it. He also insisted on not using protection and gave me HPV. That was the first time I had sex.”

“Sean Redman was 20 and I was 14 when he began a sexual relationship with me which is statutory rape,” she continues. “Sean treated me badly. He was emotionally volatile and selfish. He was also very threatened by my feminism and feminism in general, and he also gave me gonorrhea because he never used protection when he cheated on me. He is a narcissist and a predator.”

“As a young teenage girl, I witnessed a culture of predatory, misogynistic, and abusive behavior towards women by Sean, some of his bandmates in the Buttertones, and other men in their circle,” Clementine continues. “I want to say with no conditionality whatsoever that THIS IS NOT ATYPICAL OF THE MUSIC SCENE. Countless women I know have had experiences like mine with male musicians and it is heartbreaking and infuriating that young girls wanting to play music or see music should ever have to endure being sexualized by older male musicians in the scene – it is disgusting and it needs to end now.”

Read her full statement below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCqb8P3FJb5/

Redman had been a member of Cherry Glazerr from 2013 to 2016, and left to focus on the Buttertones. A 2014 Los Angeles Times article about the band reads:

After investigating Burger’s roster of artists, she relented, eventually persuading pal Hannah Uribe, whose father owns Boyle Heights bar Eastside Luv, to play drums in the band. Bassist Sean Redman, 23 and originally from Seattle, asked to join later.

If at this point you’re wondering why a 23-year-old is hanging out with a pair of teenage girls, Creevy is way ahead of you. “We’re dating,” she says quickly, and though that admission may raise eyebrows, Uribe breaks the awkwardness. “We’re all dating, actually,” she jokes.

Redman describes Creevy as “the anti-Disney Channel poster child.” He heard early demos of songs such as “Grilled Cheese” when the two first met while taking music lessons in Hollywood. He was smitten instantly.

Clementine’s statement references a post from Chloe Razink, in which she says she and Redman met and had sex, while she was unaware that he had a girlfriend:

I have wanted to address this but I was unsure of how. From what used to be one of my favorite bands, @thebuttertones, Sean Redman deserves to get called out. I drove up to LA from San Diego to stay with my close friend to keep her company for a few days. I was staying at her house to comfort her which is by Elysian Park. On April 29th Sean saw from my Instagram story that I was in LA. He asked me what area I was in and I told him. He said that it was his neighborhood and that he hopes I was having fun and to hit him up if I got bored. I was obviously excited since it was one of my favorite bands. On April 30th I posted a story and he asked what street it was on since it looked “awfully familiar.” He then went on to say he would invite me to hang out at his place but “his roommates just had a baby that was still at the care center, but he just wanted to give them their space.” I was obviously understanding and I asked my friend who I was staying with if she was fine with him hanging out, even if it was outside in her yard and not inside her house. She said she was tired and didn’t want to that night. I told him that she wasn’t down. On May 2nd he asked what I was up to. He gave me his number then and we started to text. We made plans to hang out later that night and he met me right by my friends house to take a walk with him. I had smoked a little bit with my friend before she went to bed. He took me through the hills to a lookout in a grassy area which was about a 4-5 min walk from my friends. He laid down a yoga mat and a blanket and we sat and talked for a bit and looked at the stars before we started making out and as we continued we moved onto doing more and eventually had sexual intercourse. I genuinely wanted to just meet him and talk with him and was under no assumption that this would result. He had a weird way of making you feel special and came off as charming and charismatic with knowing all the right words to say…

when I was sitting on top of him he said “wait just a minute.” And I smiled and said what? To which he said “the way you look under the moonlight…you are so easy on the eyes.” When we were done and walking back to my friends he apologized for being quiet/silent I assume because said he was “still in shock from that”. Now looking back, it was dark out and there was no one around where he took me. What could have happened if I said I wasn’t comfortable? If I tried to leave would I be able to find my way back? If anything were to happen, would anyone hear it? My friend was asleep and even though she had my location, if I called would she answer? The photo I sent to him was showing all of the mosquito bites from being out in the field that night we were together. The entire time we were talking, there was no mention of having a girlfriend….which he did have, for almost a year. He spent the entire day with her while speaking to me at the same time, until 7 pm. He literally snuck out during quarantine to hang out. Throughout the span of us talking starting at the beginning of March and ending in the beginning of May, there was no mention of being in a relationship. After we had hung out on May 2nd, someone that followed me on my blog sent me the photo of him with his arm around a woman. I thought to myself, why would he be speaking to me and openly flirting and upswiping on my stories and pursuing asking me to hang out if he was in a relationship? He is in the public eye and people would find out.

I thought to myself there’s no way, he wouldn’t do that, especially with how sincere he seems. When we were together I remember vaguely saying something along the lines of how are you single? But I should have followed up and questioned him about being in a relationship and for that, I am very sorry. Also throughout our entire time talking, he never once asked me what my age was. What would have happened if I was underaged? Since telling this story after finding out about him being in a relationship, multiple underaged girls have come forward telling me their experiences, which makes me feel sick inside. I can only encourage and support them in coming forward, as their stories are not mine to tell. Throughout the entire time he was talking to me, he was in quarantine with his girlfriend. This was someone she was spending every day with, cooking for every day, spending time with his family, and she even made masks for his whole household. It’s very ironic to me how @thebuttertones have posted about getting tested for coronavirus and staying safe but meanwhile their band member snuck out to meet me, with a newborn he is living with as the screenshot shows, who are especially immune compromised. The purpose of this post is to not let this disgusting behavior slide. Know who it is your supporting and listening to. If anyone in my dms wants this shirt, it’s yours.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCeHusrj-6q/

UPDATE: Innovative Leisure, The Buttertones’ label, dropped them following the allegations.