This week, techno and house DJ Jackmaster issued an apology for inappropriate behavior while playing Britstol music festival Love Saves the Day. The apology itself was vague, and comments and rumors (including that the DJ took a sh*t in a tea kettle) made light of the situation.
Jackmaster, along with an unnamed Love Saves the Day staff member and the festival itself, have now issued joint statements describing the incident. Jackmaster admitted to “attempting to grab, kiss people against their will” while playing the festival. He said he took a dose of GHB, a drug known for inducing blackouts, and acted inappropriately to several festival staff members.
An unnamed Love Saves the Day staff member detailed her experience, saying Jackmaster’s behavior “crossed the boundaries of acceptability.” The staff member also described a follow-up meeting between herself, Jackmaster and other staff from the festival. During the meeting, Jackmaster apologized for his behavior, even offering to turn himself in to the police. The meeting concluded with an agreement that Jackmaster would issue a public apology.
Love Saves the Day clarified the situation with its own statement, saying Jackmaster’s original, vague apology caused rumors to muddle the reason for the apology. The festival and Jackmaster agreed to issue follow-up statements to fully explain the extent of the DJ’s behavior.
We’re curious how this incident affects Jackmaster’s career moving forward. Jackmaster has pledged to deal with his substance abuse issues, and announced he would play no more events in Bristol for the rest of the year. Nightclub Motion Bristol announced it and Jackmaster mutually agreed to cut the DJ from an upcoming This Is In:Motion event.
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In light of recent events, news on Resident Advisor and as a mark of respect to those affected, Motion and Jackmaster have mutually agreed for Jack to not appear at our upcoming This Is In:Motion event.— Motion Bristol (@MotionBristol) August 17, 2018
Read the full statements from the Love Saves the Day staff member, the festival and Jackmaster below:
Unnamed Love Saves the Day staff member:
Although I wish to remain anonymous, I was one of the female members of staff who was a recipient of Jack’s actions on the night of Love Saves The Day.
Jack’s behaviour on the night towards me crossed the boundaries of acceptability, regardless of the fact he was clearly off his head. What made the matter worse is that it happened in front of so many people, and so many witnesses, and it took far too long for anybody to step in and try to take control of Jack or intervene in the slightest. People just stood by like it was OK behaviour.
Myself and other staff that he hurt, offended and upset on the night spoke with the festival management and decided that the incidents had to be addressed and not ignored.
Jack agreed to meet directly with all the staff his actions had affected on the night to offer his apologies. In that meeting, I was able to directly address Jack to tell him how humiliated and upset his behaviour made me feel and the fact it’s something that hasn’t left my mind since it happened.
The meeting environment was quite intense; I was afraid to see him again even though he had reached out to me before the face-to-face to offer his apology. There was an agenda, but before we had started, he had said that he would do whatever it takes to make us all feel better. If we wanted him to go hand himself into the police right now, he would do it, offer a public apology, whatever it took to make us all feel better again. I could see and feel he was completely sincere in what he was saying. He said he was disgusted by his own behaviour and that this had been the catalyst for him making real changes to his life.
At the end of the meeting, we all agreed with Jack that a public apology might help prevent this type of behaviour happening again anywhere in the industry and encourage people to step in quicker to stop it. Everyone has a responsibility to intervene when they see something like that happening, and if they don’t feel they can step in, they should go and get help.
That the response to his post on Monday was quite sickening, in that it was hijacked by untruths and lad humour—perhaps this is systematic of UK culture at the moment—is why it is so important for Jack to clarify what happened.
Love Saves the Day:
Jack’s unacceptable behaviour at the event, towards our staff, could not be ignored, which is why we and representatives of our staff met with Jack, and he offered to issue a public apology, and together plant a marker in the sand that this sort of thing can and should not be tolerated in our industry.
Given the reaction to the statement he put up on Monday, and the total misrepresentation of the facts and the issue we were trying to raise, it was important for him to clarify the situation and our staff appreciate he is trying to do this.
Jack has committed to take steps to ensure he never repeats his behaviour in the future, and we all appreciate this, but this is not just about Jack, this is about the industry as a whole and making sure that any kind of behaviour like this is stamped out.
None of our staff wish to pursue the matter any further and have accepted his apologies and support his undertaking to move forward from this in the right way.
Jackmaster:
On Monday I posted in good faith apologising for my behaviour at Love Saves The Day festival. The responses online twisted the story, with distorted accounts becoming further twisted through follow up dialogues—in all directions, from both over-exaggerated to jokingly uninformed.
The situation is no laughing matter, and the post was far from a means to paint myself in a positive manner. I was abusive and acted lewdly and inappropriately towards numerous members of staff at the festival—both female and male—during a drug-induced blackout, which I had put myself into after my performance by drinking a substance called GHB.
GHB, and its variant GBL, is a drug that I have struggled with for some time and on the Saturday night of Love Saves The Day I relapsed, and rather than taking what could be considered a “regular” dose of GHB, I was seen to drink it directly from the bottle.
During the ensuing blackout, my actions involved attempting to kiss and grab people against their will. I am truly disgusted and ashamed of myself, and I do not wish to use my substance abuse as an excuse for my actions.
This type of behaviour should not be tolerated—and was completely out of character from me. I have let myself, staff at the festival and those closest to me down. Although I don’t recognise the person recounted to me, I alone take full responsibility for my actions and the effect on those involved.
After meeting with those involved, staff, and other representatives of the Love Saves The Day team, my apologies were accepted by all parties. After discussing several steps forward, including me raising the idea of handing myself into the police with the intention of this being open, it was agreed that a public apology and an undertaking to never repeat the behaviour would be an acceptable conclusion, as none of the individual staff wished to pursue formal complaints to the authorities.
Following this, we mutually agreed I would post Monday’s statement, but in retrospect it was too ambiguous. The timing of this discussion was delayed since late May in part due to a family bereavement and all those involved allowing me to grieve, which I would like to thank them for. It was also to give time to Love Saves The Day to fully investigate the complaints against me from their staff.
I am attempting to address my personal issues head on, speaking to those involved personally, making changes to my lifestyle and working to ensure that others receive support. I will continue to work alongside the Love Saves The Day team on this matter.
Out of respect to those involved in the above statement, I will not be returning to Bristol to perform for the duration of this year. I hope to be back next year.
H/T: Resident Advisor
This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Jackmaster, Bristol Music Festival and Staff Member Issue Statements About Inappropriate Behavior
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