Woman Says Geordie Greep Kissed Her While She Slept

A woman who says Geordie Greep sexually assaulted her earlier this month has stated publicly that the musician kissed her while she slept and could not consent — and that he did not rape her, despite claims on flyers distributed at his Oct. 8 concert in Vancouver.

Speaking to Paste under the pseudonym Laura, she described meeting Greep and his bandmates at a bar before ending up at another woman's apartment. By that point, she said, she "found him unpleasant." She stated she was in an exclusive relationship and did not appreciate advances from anyone there.

"It got very late, I was very drunk, and I fell asleep on the couch. I then woke up to him kissing me, and no, not just a peck," she said. "If I'd had a couple more drinks and didn't wake up when I did, I don't know what would have happened."

What does the dispute over the flyers change?

Laura issued her statement partly to correct the record. A man attending Greep's Vancouver show on Oct. 8 handed out unauthorized flyers reading: "Geordie Greep A Rapist. You know what you did this morning Oct 8th. He thinks he can do what he wants. Let Him Know What Vancouver Thinks of Rapists."

Laura told Paste her "voice was taken away when those flyers were handed out and this became public. My story was twisted and made public without my consent."

She stressed that while she was not raped, "I was sexually assaulted, and [it was] more than a kiss taken the wrong way." She added: "I don't think that his assault should be diminished because of this. What he did was absolutely not okay, and should be taken seriously."

Her reasoning is precise. "I feel very strongly that the word rape should only be used for rape. We need to be able to trust when someone says rape," she said. "I very much hope that people don't learn from this not to trust rape accusations, especially when they come from the actual victim. A man who was mad made the false claim, not the victim. I want that to be very clear."

How did Greep respond?

During the Vancouver concert, Greep gave his account without specific details. He said he "ended up in a situation where, really late at a house party, I got the wrong end of the stick with someone who was there, and I made a move, and it didn't come off." He called it "a complete misunderstanding on my part" and said: "I would never rape a woman. I'm not a rapist. It's not how that went down."

After Paste published its article on Wednesday, Greep posted an additional statement on social media. He said he fell asleep in an armchair and awoke at 6 a.m., then leaned over to kiss the woman he "mistakenly and stupidly" believed was "interested" in him the night before. He said he "kissed her once and she immediately responded negatively and pushed me away. I apologised and stepped away." He said she told him she had been asleep, "which to my great regret, I honestly did not realise."

Laura's account differs on the setting. Greep said the woman was on "a sofa opposite me alongside three other people who were with us that night."

He closed with an apology. "I want to unreservedly apologise to her for what I did and for the distress and hurt I caused that night. It was a huge mistake," he wrote. "I'm not trying to minimise what happened in any way and, again, all I can say is how sorry I am."

Who else has spoken?

Cameron Campbell, a former member of Greep's band, was present at the time of the alleged assault but did not witness it. "I wasn't in the room where it occurred. However, I heard the victim's reaction, which signaled that something was wrong, and saw the immediate aftermath," Campbell said. "I later spoke directly with her, and she told me that Geordie had kissed her while she was asleep."

Campbell called the incident "deeply troubling" and rejected Greep's framing. "Someone who's asleep can't consent to being kissed, and I don't think this should be downplayed as just an awkward romantic 'move' that didn't go as planned," he said.

Campbell did not perform with Greep in Vancouver, nor did his other bandmates. Greep told the crowd he "didn't want to force [his band] to still play a show in the light of that happening" and said proceeds from the gig would benefit a Vancouver organization supporting victims of sexual violence.

Campbell will not perform with Greep again. "I made the decision to leave because, based on what I witnessed and what I subsequently learned, I couldn't continue working with Geordie," he said. "I didn't blindly quit because of the flyers distributed at the Vancouver show."

Bassist Dave Strawn joined the condemnation on social media. "I can't even begin to express my disappointment and anger with Geordie for violating her bodily autonomy. There is no excuse for this, it should never have happened," Strawn wrote. "Drinking is no excuse. We have to be better."

What happens next?

The remainder of Greep's scheduled North American dates have been cancelled. Laura said she "never wanted any of this to be public." She addressed men directly: "To all the men reading this, I want you to reflect and ask yourself how you can do a little better."

She ended with a list — the flyer distributor, the men who questioned whether she was exclusive, the man who kept calling her hot, the men defending Greep, the ones accusing her of seeking attention, and Greep himself. "None of that was rape," she wrote, "but it was all rooted in misogyny."