UPDATE March 18, 2:17 pm—The Mercury reached out to a number of parties for comment on this story, including Adam Forkner, who has yet to respond. Meanwhile, his alleged victim, Christine Messersmith, provided us with a statement that you can read in full here.
We also asked Marmoset Music, a local music licensing company that’s worked with Forkner, for comment. The company’s CEO, Ryan Wines, had this to say: “Until a greater understanding of the situation can be attainted, Marmoset has ended all representation of Adam Forkner and his music. Marmoset stands unequivocally and passionately against domestic violence and violence against women.”
ORIGINAL POST—This morning, the LA Weekly reported that Christine Messersmith, the now ex-girlfriend of former Portland musician Adam Forkner has accused him of viciously attacking her in the LA home they shared together. Forkner, who has relocated to Los Angeles, was a mainstay of the Portland music scene for many years and has been part of several musical projects, most notably White Rainbow, in addition to Yume Bitsu, We Like Cats, Purple and Green, Rob Walmart, and more.
In a Facebook post that has now been shared over 400 times, Messersmith shared pictures of her injuries (two black eyes, multiple bruises) and wrote:
“The attack lasted for 15 minutes; cornering me and smashing my face and body into objects and the floor, running from him from room to room until I was forced into my closet and called the police. When I asked him how he could do this to me, he later said he went into a black out rage; he simply could not recall much of it, indicating a deep and troubling psychosis” and later in the post, “Charges have been pressed but this has all remained very much in the dark. He abides in our old home, and I have been forced out into Airbnb and relying on the kindness of my friends and family, I have had so much love surround me as I exist in a cloud of PTSD.”
Messersmith also claims Forkner had previously assaulted other women, and that this was not the first time he attacked her. She noted that in regards to this particular incident, Forkner was angered during a night out and Messersmith’s “repulsion at the comedian troup, where I spoke up/called out on stage, a horribly sexist act.” In subsequent posts, she stated that she is taking legal action against Forkner, first as a criminal charge and then a civil charge if needed.
Neither the Mercury nor the LA Weekly were able to reach Messersmith for comment, and both publications are still waiting for Forkner’s response to the allegations. Since Messersmith’s post, Forkner’s label Leaving Records has dropped White Rainbow and he was removed from last night’s bill at a show in Silver Lake.
In light of recent events, we are removing our White Rainbow title world-wide. Leaving Records does not support violence against women.
— LEAVING RECORDS (@LEAVINGRECORDS) March 16, 2016
More on this story as it develops.
Ugh. I respect her for speaking up, even though she’ll surely get some blowback.
There’s a tendency in some underground (-ish) creative communities to disbelieve that another member of the community – particularly a semi-famous, respected one – could ever be violent. From what I’ve seen on Facebook, that’s happening a bit with this case. But just because an artist isn’t some roid-raging dude from the mainstream world doesn’t mean he can’t be abusive. Believe what you want, but don’t reflexively rally around this guy (or try to discredit this woman) just because he’s made some decent music.
Hello. I would be happy to comment.
E Bex:
Totally agree. Underground communities, even those which appear as progressive, positive, healthy, vibrant creative communities, can create their own microcosm of celebrity-dom and cronyism, in which people are idolized. This can lead to, for the sake of personal allegiance and protectionism, sordid individual details being swept under the rug. This is unacceptable, while it maybe difficult to call out your best friends, or even simply have a discussion about what is, and is not acceptable behavior. These dialogues are utterly important to have. You are not helping your friend by standing by and letting sexist, racist, privledged, (etc… etc) behavior and attitudes be swept under the rug. Instead by letting your friend’s behavior slide, you are missing a prime opportunity to cut a nasty -ism off at the head, before the damage escalates.
This behavior, no matter the circumstance, is utterly unacceptable. It’s about fucking time that, as E Bex mentioned, it becomes very clear that, domestic violence and sexism, (AND racism, AND…. ) is everywhere, even in you, and it needs to stop.
While the desired end result is crystal clear (in this particular case: don’t (physically) abuse other humans) , the path to it is increasingly complex. Mental health issues, social groups lack of courage / tacit acceptance, alcohol and other drug abuses, etc, etc.
I hope that instead of the reflexive defense or (even worse) reflexive mudslinging that E Bex mentioned, the communities that find themselves and their identities challenged by this news, do just that. Look inward at (y)our own behavior, and courageously audit (y)our own preconceived notions and ideals. We need to find a way to unravel and restitch a community social fabric that holds its members accountable, not only for unacceptable behavior, but also for taking care of ourselves. In the event that an individual is heading down a slippery mental stasis slope, I envision a social fabric that has the knowledge and more importantly, the resources to identify and prevent any type of mental illness, that when paired by chance with a bad personal history, can lead to fucked up violent incidents that we simply cannot tolerate as a humane humanity.
To be clear, I offer absolutely no justification for any act of domestic violence, but a no tolerance attitude should not dissuade us from investigating the complex field of cause and effect that leads us to this truly unacceptable shit.