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#SpeakingOut #BrandonStroud @UPROXX @WithSpandex
This has been a very hectic week both mentally and emotionally. When @kathbarbadoro spoke out, I gave my support quietly. I liked tweets as they came out, I'd message others I knew to be victims of Michael Brandon Stroud.
This has been a very hectic week both mentally and emotionally. When @kathbarbadoro spoke out, I gave my support quietly. I liked tweets as they came out, I'd message others I knew to be victims of Michael Brandon Stroud.
And offered my support, check in with them to make sure they're doing okay. I've seen other people and friends like @jon_bois and @sundownmotel say something, but I was still quiet in my support. But then yesterday @SummersTori shared her story and I realized I couldn't be quiet.
For her and everyone else who was spoken out, you have and will always have my support in this and to anyone else still too scared to speak out, I am always available to talk to. Do not be ashamed of not being able to or not being ready, but this is where I am in my journey.
Also, content warning: rape, abuse
I am not naming specific incidents any any other people that may be involved. That is their story to tell.
I am not naming specific incidents any any other people that may be involved. That is their story to tell.
Michael Brandon Stroud is unequivocally an abuser from whom I recieved years of mental and sexual abuse. He would pressure me into committing public sex acts, I would wake up to him having sex with me without my consent.
He coerced me into uncomfortable sexual situations which were often filmed. He would become upset if refused so I felt pressured into allowing it. He told me to find partners for threesomes and if I couldn't that I should instead provide him with nude photos of my sister.
He subjected me to gaslighting, lies and manipulation. He told me specifically that he wanted me to be fit because "he deserved a skinny girlfriend" and would be emotionally withholding when I put on weight and would berate me for my looks.
During our relationship I was incredibly depressed. I am one of those people who will let their house get dirty during this and it happened in this relationship. Rather than being understanding and helping me cope I would instead be berated for essentially not being his maid.
He also isolated me from any friends and family I had. He does this not by locking you away, but by either making you unreliable or turning you against them. It is another means of control and it kept anyone from being able to speak up and help me and have me accept their help.
Towards the end of our relationship I was sexually demeaned by him further, encouraged to date women and bring them back to our apartment and secretly film them. I did not comply and during this time he had been grooming someone else to take my place.
I was later told that he claims I raped him. The incident he claimed took place when I was blackout drunk. I was out with another friend but had apparently sent a drunk text. Even though I had moved out at this point, he came to pick me up and took me back to his apartment.
I do not know what occurred during this as I was heavily intoxicated. I cannot attest to my behavior, but as I was subject to so much lying and manipulation, I have good cause to believe that this was either to gain sympathy points through a fake sob story or another means
Of control. Perhaps it was both. After the relationship was over, I was scared to say anything negative about him because I felt I would be cast as the bitter ex-girlfriend as he left me for the woman he had been grooming. It took me many years to recognize what I experienced
As abuse. As time went on he would occasionally contact me, I felt obligated to be cordial, but I still was quite angry. He never once admitted to any if his impropriety or abusive actions. I would sometimes see his social media and see his posts about how he believed
He was trying to change. I wanted to believe that was the case. I didn't want him in my life, but maybe he was ashamed of what he had done. Maybe he was actually trying to improve. Instead I have found out that the abuse I experienced was not even where it began. It was also
Not where it stopped. He has hurt so many men and women. I know too many stories that kept happening. It is not fair to anyone to experience this. This finally needs to stop and he and the world needs to keep seeing people he has harmed.
So while @UPROXX and their parent company @WarnerMedia are not directly responsible for his behavior, the power and access granted to him enabled this behavior. Your silence speaks volumes.
To anyone still out there in need of help from this or from other situations, please use resources like @RAINN and @SurvivorsnetBtn if you need to reach out to someone anonymously. Please remember you are at fault for being a survivor.
To everyone else who has reached out, reconnected, or just shared my story I want to say that your support means an incredible amount to me and that I am forever grateful. I am also lucky to have a loving family and fiance who have supported me as well.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
