Insults and threats prompted photographer Amy Harris to change her mind and press simple battery charges against Vyron “Left Brain” Turner of the Odd Future hip-hop collective. She was one of the photographers who claims that Left Brain slapped her during the group’s performance at the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans. She chose not to press charges at the time, expecting an apology or an explanation; instead, Odd Future denied that Left Brain had struck anyone, and his response on his tumblr account began, “i didnt slap that old bitch, everybody seen that shit..idgaf.”
Harris has declined interviews on these new developments, but she has posted a statement on her blog. “It is my understanding that a police report I filed in New Orleans on Friday has now become public knowledge and is being reported on various websites,” she wrote Sunday night. “At this time, I do not wish to discuss the filing of the police report other than to say that, upon further reflection of events of the past week, it is something I needed to do. The week’s events have been extremely upsetting and culminated with an email from an unidentified person threatening to kill me and rape me and my family. While it is certainly possible that the email came from an overzealous fan of Odd Future, and not from the group itself, it has become clear to me that this is a matter for the police. I hope the media will respect my privacy. In that regard, I ask that any questions be directed my attorney, Amy Borlund at Doll Amir & Eley in Los Angeles.”
Harris filed charges in New Orleans on Friday, but as of Monday morning, the police report remained incomplete, so the Police Department were unable to arrest Left Brain when he traveled to New Orleans Saturday to see the solo debut of Odd Future vocalist Frank Ocean when he performed at the House of Blues. “bak in the 504,” he announced on his Tumblr blog Saturday, “where the best artist are.”
On the Monday after Voodoo, Odd Future released a statement that read:
There simply is no truth to the accusation floating around the internet,” the controversial hip-hop collective said in a statement. “It’s no secret that Odd Future has a love/hate relationship with photographers at shows simply because sometimes they are given access the group wishes their fans would have instead. After telling the photographers to clear out multiple times—as they’ve done before—Vyron (Left Brain) took a swipe at a few cameras, not people. To manipulate the situation to insinuate an attack on a woman specifically is careless and manipulative.
Odd Future’s publicist, Heathcliff Berru, declined to comment further on the charges.
