Multiple people accuse Derrick May of sexual assault

A number of women have come forward claiming sexual assault and harassment by Derrick May, in new reports by DJ Mag and Resident Advisor.

DJ Mag lists the accounts of four women – all with their names changed, while Resident Advisor says it has spoken to 16 people who claim to have been sexually assaulted or sexually harassed by May, as well as to other witnesses who corroborate these claims.

The various accounts paint the 57-year-old Detroit DJ and producer as sexually aggressive, with one describing “a culture of almost constant harassment and abuse that came with working with May.”

“He was the kind of guy who would come in and try to grab your chest or stick his hand down your trousers, or even physically or verbally abuse the other guys in the office,” the account continues.

The reports date back 20 years, and suggest that Derrick May assaulted women in the US, the UK, Europe and New Zealand.

In response to the allegations, Derrick May gave the following statement:

“As a black man working in a white-dominated and openly biased industry, am I expected to have learned the painful lesson that there is no such thing as truth, fairness, or due process?

“When will the long, storied history of weaponizing the sexuality of African American men end?

“Must I collaborate under duress with my own victimization at the hands of an openly hostile press that amplifies the so-called fears of privileged, anonymous women in an internet-mediated lynching?

“I have no interest in legitimizing these distortions.

“Women are the conduit of life, and as such, are to be protected, and not exploited. I live by those words.”

The news follows the emergence of horrifying allegations of domestic abuse by the rapper Octavian yesterday.

DJ and producer Erick Morillo was found dead at a property in September this year, three weeks after being arrested and charged with sexual battery of a female DJ.