Jackmaster details “abusive” behaviour at Love Saves the Day Festival

Jackmaster

The Scottish DJ has admitted to sexual harassment at the Bristol festival

Following on from an online post from the Scottish DJ this week, in which he apologised for “inappropriate and offensive behaviour” at Love Saves the Day, two further statements have emerged from an anonymous staff member and Jackmaster – real name Jack Revill – detailing the incidents.

In Revill’s statement, he admits to “attempting to kiss and grab people against their will”. The anonymous account details how staff members voiced their concerns to festival management and a subsequent meeting took place between staff and the DJ. While Revill agreed to issue a public apology online, posted on Monday (13 August), a staff member felt that his post was “hijacked by untruths and lad humour”.

Since, Motion has dropped Revill from the venue’s This is In:Motion party on 18 September, citing “a zero tolerance policy toward any behaviour of this kind.” Revill has also been removed from The Warehouse Project’s upcoming season line-up. A statement hasn’t been released from the team behind the Manchester club nights.

Read the statements below.

Anonymous 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.

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.

(via RA)