So I had to take down the Straight Boy video because as it turns out the actor and director in the video is an abuser... I know.. the irony
— Shamir (@ShamirBailey) November 1, 2017
If you believe NPR, then Shamir Bailey is poised to become an official spokesperson for “struggling, anxious 90's kids.”
If you watch a new video from the Philadelphia-based songwriter, you’ll see a Tampa Bay area filmmaker getting some shine as a foil to Shamir during a clip that addresses what Shamir calls "whitewashing and queer baiting in media."
UPDATE: Shamir has pulled the video after the St. Pete-based filmmaker was accused of sexual assault. CL was unaware of any allegations against Carpenter and has reached out for comment. Shamir, for his part shared is his own explanation with out.com.
"A while back he actually told me a story where someone accused him of abuse in college, but apparently it was all a misunderstanding," Shamir told OUT. "He talked it out with the school police, and the authorities, and the person, and everything was sorted. I also was with his friend from college, and his friend concurred."
Shamir asked Carpenter if the person making the YouTube comment was referring to the same story Carpenter had told him earlier. Carpenter's response: “I guess. I don’t know.”
"I cut all ties with him, told him I was going to get rid of the video, took down the video, and made my statement this morning," Shamir continued. "I said [to him], 'This is horrible. You’re obviously an alleged rapist. I don’t know your reputation back home because we met in Brooklyn.' We filmed the video in LA, and I went to Florida once, so I don’t know his reputation. I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have worked with him.”
Shamir made clear that he was grateful to the survivors who have spoken up against Carpenter, saying: "I want to say thank you to the survivors, and to the survivors for letting me know. It’s obviously a horrible situation, and I’m just glad the person was honest and allowed me to be on top of it."
“Some of those lyrics are directed right at people just like me, like ‘They say I'm brave for being true, but act like it's not something they can do,’” Ryan Carpenter told CL in a message. “It's so true, so I sort of knew I was playing sortof the villain.”
Carpenter, a St. Pete-based filmmaker who directed the clip for “Straight Boy,” met Shamir in the dead of winter inside of a New York City bar called Happy Fun Hideaway, and had no clue he was an up-and-coming musician. Shamir left to go back to Philly, but the pair hung out a few times in the months leading up to the recording of Shamir’s forthcoming sophomore album, Revelations (due November 3 via Father/Daughter). The pair has always talked about working together, and finally decided to make it happen for “Straight Boy.”
A photograph from that day will be Revelations’ very powerful album cover.
“Shamir's first album was incredibly empowering to queer and people of color,” Carpenter, 28, said. “In this song he is calling out straight white boys on our shit, I’m all about it.”
Watch the clip below, and listen to Revelations via "First Listen" on NPR. Call your local record store to see if it is carrying the release.
