FYF Fest’s Sean Carlson accused of sexual misconduct; incidents reported by SPIN
Kevin Bronson on
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FYF Fest founder Sean Carlson has been accused of four instances of sexual misconduct between 2010 and 2015, according to a report published by SPIN. Responding the the publication’s investigation, Carlson said that two of the allegations were true and disputed two others, adding “conduct in both of these incidents was inexcusable.”
On Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that Goldenvoice, with whom Carlson had partnered on FYF Fest since 2011, had severed ties with the promoter. That news came in an email from Goldenvoice chief Paul Tollett to booking agents.
The Times has been working on a similar investigation, according to sources who have talked with Times reporters, but nothing has yet been published.
* Update: The Times report landed this afternoon.
Carlson today released a statement on Facebook saying, in part: “I am genuinely, unequivocally sorry. I lay fault at no one’s feet but my own. I am ashamed by how I acted and feel terrible for the pain that I have caused.”
Carlson founded FYF Fest, then known as F*ck Yeah Fest, as a DIY event in Echo Park in 2004. The festival has grown to be one of the most influential on the West Coast.
SPIN reported that a former colleague of the promoter said Carlson’s conduct with women as an “open secret” in the scene, a description echoed by multiple others. Carlson has also been mentioned on the anonymous Tumblr site The Industry Ain’t Safe.
It was fun while it lasted.