Alice Glass Accuses Former Crystal Castles Bandmate Ethan Kath Of Abuse

Following the recent allegations against Harvey Weinstein and the #metoo campaign, Alice Glass has come forward with her own accusations of rape and abuse against her former Crystal Castles bandmate, Ethan Kath.

Glass, whose real name is Margaret Osborn, took to her website yesterday to post a statement about what allegedly happened between her and Kath. She also shared a link to the statement on Twitter, explained that she wanted to share her story about why she left the band back in 2014 and joined the #metoo movement.

In her statement, Glass says she had been too scared to open up about her experience with Kath, but she was inspired and emboldened by the women who have been coming forward with their own stories of sexual abuse and harassment recently, so she decided to tell her story too.

Glass explains that she first met Kath, whose real name is Claudio Palmieri, when she was in 10th grade. She was about 15, and he was 10 years older than her the first time he “took advantage of me.” Glass stated that he had given her drinks, and she woke up later in the back of his car still “extremely intoxicated.”

Glass claims that she didn’t talk to Kath for months after that first incident, but he started stalking her. According to her, Kath would drive past her school, show up wherever she was, and more. Eventually, though, they found their way back to each other.

Glass then details years of alleged abuse. According to Glass, Kath would use her insecurities against her, give her drugs and alcohol, and have sex with her.

“It wasn’t always consensual and he remained sober whenever we were together,” Glass says of Kath.

Things only escalated by the time Crystal Castles formed and made it big. Glass claims that a recording engineer sexually harassed her, and Kath just laughed at her and told her to go along with it. Kath also put her and her role in the band down. He “intentionally [diminished] my role” in the creation of their first single “Alice Practice” by saying her vocals on the song were an “accidental” mic test.

Eventually, according to Glass, Kath “began abusively and systematically targeting my insecurities and controlling my behavior: my eating habits, who I could talk to, where I could go, what I could say in public, what I was allowed to wear.”

Glass also accuses Kath of physical abuse. She recounts a time when Kath held her over a staircase and threatened to throw her down the stairs. He also allegedly lifted her over his shoulders and threw her onto the concrete. He then took pictures of her bruises and posted them online. When Glass threatened to leave, Kath promised to stop the physical abuse. But that only led to more emotional and psychological abuse.

In her statement, Glass details a relationship of physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse. She recalls Kath manipulating her, playing on her insecurities, controlling many aspects of her life from who she could talk with to owning a phone and credit card while forcing her to have sex by threatening her status in the band and using scare tactics against her. Because of Kath’s alleged behavior, Glass was suicidal for years.

this is why I had to leave Crystal Castles. here is my story: https://t.co/bs9aJRwgms #metoo

— ALICE GLASS (@ALICEGLASS) October 24, 2017

Like many other abusive relationships, Glass claims that Kath would often be kind after the abuse and that he was very charming. He also kept the abuse quiet so nobody would know. That, paired with Glass’ love of Crystal Castles, kept her in the band for a while.

Eventually, though, Glass left Crystal Castles, and Kath replaced her. She said it was the hardest decision she ever made, but she had to do it, and she’s still recovering from her experience with Kath.

According to Stereogum, Crystal Castles has canceled several of its tour dates since Glass’ accusations against Kath came out.

While Glass and Kath have swiped back and forth at each other on social media since Glass left Crystal Castles, this is the first time Glass has come forward with the full accusations.

For his part, Kath has denied the allegations Glass made against him.

“I am outraged and hurt by the recent statements made by Alice about me and our prior relationship,” Kath said in a statement to Pitchfork through his attorney. “Her story is pure fiction and I am consulting my lawyers as to my legal options. Fortunately, there are many witnesses who can and will confirm that I was never abusive to Alice.”

[Featured Image by Tim Whitby/Getty Images]