Thread by @liliandaisies

🧵Breaking down the rape accusations against Melanie Martinez and debunking misinformation spread by fans.

On December 2017, Timothy Heller came forward against her former best friend Melanie Martinez, alleging that during a sleepover two years back Melanie raped her.

Melanie started asking Timothy her sexual preferences. As a sexual abuse survivor, Timothy felt uncomfortable. Melanie said they should have sex. Timothy kept saying no and Melanie pressured her, asking WHY she didn’t want to, insisting that it would be fun.

Timothy told Melanie that she was tired, she wanted to sleep, she had work in the morning and said no in any way she could think of. She then pretended to be asleep, praying that Melanie would stop there, but unfortunately she didn’t.

Like many survivors, Timothy said that she struggles with remembering the exact date since it happened years ago, and that she believes it took place around June 25th or some time in that week.

The fixation fans have on Timothy confusing the date is odd because Melanie herself confirmed the sexual interaction in Timothy’s accusation happened, she just doesn’t consider it rape.

Melanie responded to the accusation with “Timothy never said no” and said they chose to do things. She was fine with her fans bullying Timothy into silence, made a statement thanking them for it and released a diss track about her.

After Timothy accused Melanie, another woman came forward with a similar story, saying that Melanie wore her down by begging her over and over to have sex until she gave in. This is by definition sexual coercion.

Timothy never said she lied. Fans spread an edited Instagram story to claim she did. When Timothy accused Melanie, dozens of articles were written about it, yet there’s none about her ‘admitting she lied’ because it never happened.

In reality, Timothy has always stood by her accusation and has repeatedly begged people to listen to her instead of believing victim blaming tactics and misinformation about her.

Another heartbreaking statement Timothy has made, describing how unbearable her life has become after being harassed and threatened by hundreds of people every single day.

Timothy never changed her story. The so called “different versions” are all in her original statement. And not remembering the exact date her friendship with Melanie ended in no way suggests she lied about rape.

Fans claim Timothy made the accusation to promote her album, but she didn’t even have an album coming out. She only released one song months before the accusation. The lie that women come forward to build their careers is victim blaming textbook.

Timothy staying friends with Melanie after the rape does not make her a liar. She struggled for years to realise and accept what happened. Melanie was her friend whom she cared for. And she did not want to harm her by accusing her.

Timothy was always vocal about how the industry protects abusers. She supported survivors and knew the damages victims face from coming forward and that she would face the same, but she felt a responsibility to tell her story and bring awareness.

The threads and videos on “Timothy lying” are victim blaming tactics such as body language analysis, easily debunked lies and shaming her for forgetting small details, having BPD and staying friends with Melanie after the rape.

Timothy has no control on wether people believe her or not. But thousands of fans harass, threaten and trigger her every day. They purposely make her life unbearable because they can’t face the possibility that she might be telling the truth about their idol.