Meghan Linsey Recalls Sexual Assault by ‘Powerful’ Music Business Man
Steel Magnolia and The Voice singer Meghan Linsey is opening up about a 2010 sexual assault that took place at the beginning of her music career. On her personal Facebook page, Linsey says she was moved to talk about it after Donald Trump’s comments from 2005 became public.
She doesn’t name names, and in a follow-up at Yahoo she declines to identify the man who groped her. Linsey says that while she was touring with Steel Magnolia, a "very powerful man in the music business" reached under her skirt, groped her and tried to pick her up by her behind, in front of a lot of important people.
I was mortified and told him not to touch me and to put me down. It caused quite a scene and I could tell that he was embarrassed and angry. The next night he came up behind me and whispered in my ear, he said, ‘I have boats bigger than you could ever imagine, and I could put you in the middle of the ocean where no one would ever hear from you again. Just remember that.’ He laughed and walked away.
Linsey says her manager and the head of her label told her not to “breathe a word of that story to anyone ever.” She and her duet partner, Joshua Scott Jones, were signed to Big Machine Records at the time.
“They both said if I wanted to have a career in country music then I could never say anything about it out loud, to anyone," she adds.
The 30-year-old goes on to target Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president. She admits she was already not voting for him, but feels his comments and explanation that "it was just talk" is inadequate and insulting. “Because at the end of the day,” she says, “It’s NOT just talk. This is rape culture, where powerful men sexually assault women and get away with it because of 'who they are.'”
Comments under Linsey’s post were passionate, but mixed. While most praised her for coming forward, some questioned her story, while others urged her to check Hillary Clinton's background further. It spiraled into a political discussion.
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