What’s up y’all, it’s Emile Ennis Jr. here with Clevver Music, and 5 Seconds of
Summer lead guitarist Michael Clifford has apologized after some fans have accused him
of sexual assault, homophobia, and sexism.
Before we go any further, please note that some of these stories are alleged and that
the descriptions in the following tweets may be triggering or uncomfortable to hear. We
have linked resources down below if you or anyone you know needs help.
On Sunday, Twitter users began to share some personal stories of the abuse they allegedly
endured by the musician.
In between the years of 2013 and 2015, 5 Seconds of Summer toured with One Direction on their
“Take Me Home,” “Where We Are,” and “On The Road Again” tours.
Michael was accused of sexually assaulting multiple underage girls in 2013 and 2014,
as some fans claimed that he made sexual advances towards them at meet and greets, during concerts,
or in his hotel room after his shows.
A second-hand account recalled one detailed alleged story in which Michael sexually assaulted
an underage girl. His bandmate, Calum Hood, was allegedly also in attendance.
The Twitter user wrote, “First of all i don't want to spread hate but i feel like
i need to tell you guys what happened. this is a story that happened in 2014. A girl I
used to be mutuals with told me that michael clifford used to invite underaged girls to
his hotel room/bus tour after shows.”
They continued to claim that the girl was invited by Michael to his hotel room and although
she felt uncomfortable and intimidated, she decided to stay because Michael was her favorite
band member.
And the tweets continued to describe what allegedly happened in detail, with the person
writing, “She sat on the bed, tried to talk to michael and he started acting weird and
he started touching her inappropriately. She wanted to leave so she pretended she had to
go. Michael didn't stop. Calum was also in the room and he started laughing.”
And they further went on to say, “She told me she started crying and michael and calum
were laughing and making fun of her. I don't remember what happened after. I also am not
sure if the other members were there too. But i'm %100 sure calum was there with mc.”
The account further stated that the girl tried to speak up at the time, but no one believed
her.
They wrote, “This is a story that happened 6 years ago (I had another account). She tried
to speak up. No one believed her. She got called a sl*t a liar an attention seeker.
She deactivated weeks later. I don't know where she is today but I hope she's okay.”
Along with this sexual assault accusation came other similar alleged stories from multiple
accounts.
Michael has also been accused of being homophobic and sexist, as fans have uncovered some tweets
that were published between 2012 and 2015.
In what’s believed to be a now-deleted Tweet, Michael once wrote, “I am so bad at making
sandwiches, I would be a terrible woman.”
He is also accused of using the “f” word as a slur towards the LGBTQ community in the
past.
Michael took to Twitter on Sunday to issue a public apology to his fans regarding his
old tweets, writing, “hi. I am so f*****g sorry for all the dumb s**t I did when I was
younger. I am a different person now with a much better understanding of the world.
some people have access to a digital megaphone a bit earlier than they should, unfortunately,
I was one of them.”
He followed up with another tweet, writing, “I am so sorry for hurting anyone. it was
never my intention. I was so naive and I am embarrassed and I am beyond sorry. I will
continue to be better and I will continue to change. I never want to hurt anyone again.”
While Michael did apologize for his past actions on Twitter, he also denied any acts of sexual
assault, writing, “holy s**t. i am heartbroken to read these things that are being said - they
are just BEYOND untrue. i was never allowed in the crowd i only ever watched at front
of house - and i would've never EVER done that. i would NEVER do anything like that.
i'm so f*****g upset.”
And some fans wanted more answers from the musician, like this fan who wrote, “can
you tell more about it please we are desperate.”
To which Michael replied, writing, “i really just dont know what i can even say. people
are asking me to explain but how can i explain something that i was never involved with in
the first place? i truly want to give you what you're asking from me but what more can
i say?”
And another fan wrote, “michael i have been sick about this for like 2 hours please say
something more than one tweet.”
Michael shared this video response to the tweet, and replied by writing, “this is
what life was like in 2013 - please understand it wouldve been logistically impossible for
me to get through a crowd at a show i just played at! im not trying to be defensive i
promise this is just so completely false.”
We realize that these accusations are very upsetting, and we’ve linked some resources
below if you or anyone you know needs help coping with anything similar to these stories.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., thanks for watching Clevver Music. I’ll see you soon!