Kate Nash Opens Up About Sexual Assault In Brave Instagram Post

“We don't have to look like a victim to be one."
Singer Kate Nash wrote a social media post Friday about her experience of being forcibly groped.
Singer Kate Nash wrote a social media post Friday about her experience of being forcibly groped.
Adela Loconte/Getty Images

British singer-songwriter Kate Nash went public on Friday about being forcibly groped, in an effort to encourage other survivors of sexual assault to come forward.

The Los Angeles-based musician wrote in a lengthy Instagram post that on Wednesday, a “man [she] did not know,” fondled Nash in her own home.

Nash said she wanted to share her story because of the reluctance of women to speak about assault, particularly given the shame they are often made to endure for doing so.

“Women & girls are also mostly told they were asking for it & accused of making it up,” Nash wrote. “So sometimes we think twice about coming forward, or we don't at all. I'm tired of feeling that way.”

Nash, who is currently recording her fourth album, posted a photo of herself accompanying the message. She is wearing a bright top and rose-tinted sunglasses, and is holding a cigarette on the edge of her rouged lip as she gawks at the camera.

“I don't like the usual imagery associated with assault,” she wrote. “We don't have to look like a victim to be one. I actually happen to be a badass bitch from hell. This shit can happen to anyone.”

Nash invited her nearly 56,000 Instagram followers to post their stories in the comments section of the post. As of Friday evening, there were over 90 comments including many personal accounts of sexual assault.

She hosted a video live stream on YouNow Friday afternoon, during which she revealed she had been groped by a builder working in her home.

“I was showing him work that needed to be fixed, so there was no need
for him to be touching me in any kind of sexual manner," Nash said.

She discussed the incident, as well as past experiences she has had.

Nash is the latest in a series of women to speak publicly about the pervasiveness of sexual assault in American society in general, and the music industry in particular.

Pop star Kesha shined a light on the culture of impunity in the music world in February, when she failed in her attempt to withdraw from a contract requiring her to work with Dr. Luke, a music producer she has accused of repeatedly physically and sexually abusing her.

Several women artists came forward in January alleging that successful music publicist Heathcliff Berru had groped or otherwise harassed them. People who knew about Berru’s misconduct toward other women say they were often told to keep quiet.

Need help? In the U.S., visit the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline operated by RAINN. For more resources, visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center's website.

If you have a story about mistreatment, sexual harassment or
sexual assault in the music industry, contact Sara Boboltz or Maxwell Strachan.

Before You Go

Surviving In Numbers: Stories Of Sexual Assault Survivors

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