A rising YouTube star's former fans have accused him of being a 'rape apologist' after it was revealed he dated and ruthlessly defended the man who allegedly sexually assaulted his best friend and a few other women.
Rin Rodriguez, a 20-year-old makeup artist who is known as Gothfruits and identifies as a non-binary boy, is being slammed on social media after the details of his fraught relationship with his childhood friend Ander Ayala have come to light.
Ander, 21, told BuzzFeed News that she broke up with her boyfriend after graduating from high school in 2016 because he had raped her. However, she soon noticed that something was going on between her ex and Rin, who was her best friend at the time.
Controversy: Rin Rodriguez, a 20-year-old makeup artist who is known as Gothfruits and identifies as a non-binary boy, is being slammed for being a 'rape apologist'
Heartbreak: The YouTuber's former friend Ander Ayala (pictured), 21, said Rin started dating her ex-boyfriend after she revealed that he had raped her
Worried for Rin's safety, Ander said she confided in him about what happened. Shortly after, she realized that word of her sexual assault had spread, even though she only told a few friends and family members.
'Everyone was telling me Rin was telling them I was lying about it, and that it didn’t really happen, and I was just jealous. And [the assailant] was such a great guy,' she told BuzzFeed.
Ander was so upset about what had happened that she quit her job and changed her phone number before she started going to therapy.
She said that she tried to reach out to Rin in 2017 to discuss what happened between them, but she never heard back.
Instead, her former best friend appeared to be mocking her on Twitter.
Allegations: Ander said she later learned that Rin ruthlessly defended her rapist and told people that she was lying about the alleged sexual assault
Hurt: Ander said she tried to reach out to Rin in 2017 to discuss what happened, but she never heard back. Instead, her former best friend appeared to be mocking her on Twitter
Hypocrite? The situation became public last year when a mutual acquaintance accused Rin of bullying her ex's alleged sexual assault victims until they attempted suicide
Receipts: The person shared screengrabs of alleged messages Rin had sent
Rin's unrelated public feud with another YouTuber led the tweets to be posted on public blog forums and Twitter, prompting his fans to ask what was going on a year later
'I'm tired of waking up to unknown numbers sending me paragraphs of apologies like what's the point lol I don't need it anymore,' Rin tweeted in June 2017.
A year later, the situation became public when a mutual friend called Rin a hypocrite for a tweet in which he said: 'If you leave your female friend drunk in a place of unknown strangers esp men ur a piece of f*****g garbage point blank lmao.'
'Your boyfriend literally raped our friend and you didn't even break up with him, you broke her down until she didn't believe it was really rape but go off for those rts,' the person responded.
'@gothfruits it must be nice to be able to move on on your end but never apologize to the victims for the harm you did anyway here's that time you told @downseung you blamed one of his victims for making you "choose sides" in f*****g RAPE.'
The person went on to claim that Rin's invalidation of their sexual assault led them to attempt suicide, writing: 'You get to move on. The victims you gaslit don't.'
Fact versus fiction: In February 2018, Rin wrote a lengthy apology. He claimed Ander had given him her blessing to date her ex-boyfriend
Claim: The YouTuber said he was initially wary of Ander's accusations against his ex, but he later realized there should always be 'pure belief' when it comes to victims of sexual assault
Realization: Rin admitted that he confronted his then-boyfriend about the rape and stayed with him after he denied it. However, he claimed that Ander was 'not a good person'
Excuse: Rin said that although he believes Ander is a victim of sexual assault, he opted not to respond to her when she reached out to him because she was a 'toxic' friend overall
Rin responded with a lengthy statement that was written on the Notes app, claiming that Ander had given him her blessing to date her ex-boyfriend but was actually upset that they were together.
The YouTuber said he was initially wary of Ander's accusations against his ex, but he later realized that there should always be 'pure belief' when it comes to victims of sexual assault.
He admitted that he confronted his then-boyfriend about the rape and stayed with him after he denied it. He said that he understands now that he is a 'huge manipulator' and shouldn't have been trusted.
Rin went on to say that although he believes Ander is a victim of sexual assault, he opted not to respond to her when she reached out to him because she was a 'toxic' friend overall.
According to BuzzFeed, the damning tweets and Rin's statement were posted on publicly on blog forums and Twitter after he got into an unrelated public dispute with YouTuber Kalvin Garrah.
Change of heart: It was reported that Rin had recorded and published a YouTube video trying to explain the situation but quickly deleted it
Hitting back: Ander and another victim responded with their own YouTube video , which was titled: 'RE: the truth about my past (gothfruits)'
False: In the clip, Ander said that Rin's video painted himself to be a victim as well. She said he claimed that he had owned up to his actions and apologized to her, which wasn't the case
The accusation that Rin bullied victims of sexual assault led fans to call out the star and demand an explanation.
BuzzFeed reported that Rin had recorded and published a YouTube video trying to explain the situation but quickly deleted it.
Ander managed to watch the video before it was taken down, and she said he 'framed himself as one of the people hurt in this situation.'
She and another victim responded with their own YouTube video, which was titled: 'RE: the truth about my past (gothfruits).'
In the clip, Ander said that Rin's video painted himself to be a victim as well. She said he claimed that he had owned up to his actions and apologized to her, which wasn't the case.
Statement: Rin returned to Twitter last week with another apology , stating that this will be the last time he will be speaking about his past
Damage control: The YouTuber said he wanted to apologize to the victims and his followers. He noted that he was 'very sorry' for not believing the victims at first
She was also upset that Rin posted the video without asking her or the other victim's permission. Because of the video, Ander said she had to speak about her rape with friends and family members whom she never intended to tell.
'That was probably the hardest part about all this,' she said in the clip.
At the end of the video, another person read one of the victim's statement on the matter to protect her identity.
In the description, the person who posted the video accused Rin of trying to project her growing YouTube empire.
'If you talk about what happened on Rin's posts — you get blocked, and your comments deleted,' the person wrote. 'If you like other people's comments regarding the situation — same thing.
'They are trying to keep evidence of their abuse under the rug and it's important we make sure they don't succeed in doing it, especially not by manipulating the public and their viewers.'
Cancelled: Rin's apology wasn't enough for his fans, who swiftly slammed him on Twitter. Critics of the YouTuber are now looking to get him dropped by the brands that sponsor him
The person went on to share a list of brands that sponsor Rin, including Milk Makeup and Nyx Cosmetics, encouraging people to contact them about boycotting the YouTuber.
Rin returned to Twitter last week with another apology, stating that this will be the last time he will be speaking about his past.
'I wanted to come on here and post an apology to not only the victims, but also my followers,' he wrote. 'I stayed off Twitter and focused on just posting content to take away any negative focus of the victims. It was not my intention to cause distress or open any past wounds or to look uninterested in what was going on.
'What happened in the past cannot be changed, and I cannot take anything back,' he continued. 'I'm sorry for any lingering feelings it may have caused. The only thing I can do is apologize. Reflecting back on this has made me realize I should have been more supportive as a friend and I have learned from my mistakes.
'I am human, we are human, and we make mistakes. Was this handled correctly? No. But I am taking time to reflect on my actions. I understand that my past apology may not have been seen as insincere, so for that I'm expressing my most genuine apology.
'I'm very sorry for not believing what was stated and have learned from my mistakes. I will be stepping away from social media for a little bit.'
However, Rin's apology wasn't enough for his fans, who swiftly hit back at the rising beauty vlogger. Many accused him of apologizing simply to keep his brand partnerships.
'Hopefully it's the last time you're speaking on social media at all,' one person tweeted. 'You're going to have to deal with the consequences of your actions, watching you dig yourself further into this hole by trying to cover your a** without any sincerity is disgusting.'
'I stood up for you and I believed in you,' another wrote. 'I genuinely thought you supported victims but after hearing from those you hurt reminded me of how I was treated by my abuser. I could no longer support you in good consciousness.'
Rin told BuzzFeed that he is 'genuinely sorry' that he hurt Ander by not believed she was raped at the time. However, he doesn't think he should be punished for mistakes he made when he was a teenager.
'I don’t believe the 17-year-old me should represent who I am today,' he said. 'I’m learning about new things every day. I’m literally becoming an adult and I don’t think that anymore — and yes, I am sorry that I ever hurt those girls.'
Critics of the YouTuber are now looking to get him dropped by the brands that sponsor him.
'Guess @milkmakeup still hasn't heard that Rin (@/gothfruits) is a rape apologist and sent their manager to harass SA victims,' one person tweeted.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/22/non-binary-youtuber-is-accused-of-bullying-sexual-assault-victims/
Main photo article A rising YouTube star’s former fans have accused him of being a ‘rape apologist’ after it was revealed he dated and ruthlessly defended the man who allegedly sexually assaulted his best friend and a few other women.
Rin Rodriguez, a 20-year-old makeup artist who is known as G...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/22/00/11301310-6836533-image-m-97_1553212939492.jpg
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