Over the weekend, Scottish techno DJ Inez went public with allegations against fellow DJ and producer James Asquith of sexual assault and controlling behaviour. Inez, from Glasgow, claims that Asquith took her to his flat and carried out the assault in question. Asquith strongly denies the allegations.
Inez shared her story online, saying “Shortly after my move to London, he invited me out for drinks where he began to act extremely inappropriately and coerced me into going back to his flat despite me repeatedly saying no… Immediately after we got to his, I was sexually assaulted. I was grabbed, and asked forcefully to perform sexual acts whilst he exposed and touched himself.”
“Not once was any consent made and i did not know how to react except freeze up from fear. This was not an isolated incident and his inappropriate and controlling behaviours continued through
messages and in person in the weeks that
followed. Some examples included controlling how I ran my own Instagram page, invalidation of my feelings, and manipulation tactics.”.
She further reveals she has now resigned from her position at Asquith’s label Lobster Theremin. The exact time frame of the alleged incidents are unclear – but we understand that Inez started working as a label assistant for Lobster Theremin in August of this year, and only moved back to Glasgow from London recently.
Over the weekend, Ears To The House has learnt that the label’s entire staff have resigned over the allegations. Not only that, but Asquith himself sent a defiant email – which we’ve seen – stating he’ll be running his label by himself from here on. It does not, however, comment on any of the allegations currently being made.
In addition, artists such as Black Girl/White Girl and Zefer have announced they’re cancelling their upcoming releases with Lobster Theremin. Further to this, Asquith’s gig on October 15th for Big Fat Rave has already been pulled – and one venue which he’s due to play soon confirmed the booking is “under review” after we contacted them yesterday.
Asquith himself declined to comment when contacted by Ears To The House yesterday, but he did issue a long statement on Instagram strongly denying the allegations, On the night Inez claims she was sexually assaulted, he claims “Shona decided to come to my flat and when we arrived, I checked up on my cat and then went to bed with nothing further occurring.”.
He also stated “I intend to fight this with all resources necessary to clear my name and I will be available to co-operate with any official process to address the situation” and branded the allegations against him “lies and distortions”.
Comments are unavailable on this story for legal reasons.
