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Riff Raff has denied the allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against him by two women over the last few weeks. Eliza Stafford claimed that Riff drugged and raped her after a show, while Kelsey Doucette said that he made unwanted advances upon her when she was a minor. However, rather than make a formal statement on Twitter as has become the norm, the rapper has instead given his response through footage from a 14-minute "short film" called Trial by Media, which features Riff in the "starring role."The clips, posted to Riff Raff's official Instagram, have the rapper making his testimony to California entertainment lawyer Marc Lazo and filmmaker Sarah B. Downey. Riff states that the allegations are "illegal" and that "never once have I forced a girl to have sex. Never once have I forced a girl to do any type of drugs. I don't wanna have a girl drunk and sleepy." Meanwhile, the other two repeat rhetoric that has been adopted by many of those who find #MeToo and similar movements to be too harsh. "The so-called victims are becoming the bullies," says Lazo. "How can somebody say something in the media and then [it's] literally, judge, jury, and executioner, in the media?" says Downey.Ideologically conservative griping aside, this is kind of a really weird and somewhat disingenuous way to make a case for yourself? Like, I get that Riff Raff has always been in character and that he has to maintain this absurdist Access Hollywood veneer over his whole life, but when it comes to something serious like rape allegations, maybe the act should be dropped. Also his casual grossness towards women, talking about them as resources to be collected ("If she don't want to go… then guess what, club's about to let out, [I'll] get some other ones") isn't great, but it's sadly the norm in the music world. Watch both videos below and the entirety of Trial by Media here.
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