Victoria Canal posted about an abusive relationship and grooming by a much older, powerful man without naming him, saying the incident occurred when she was 19 and that she carried it for eight years. Michael Franti acknowledged an affair with an unnamed artist while he was married but denied any nonconsensual behavior, calling the relationship consensual and based on mutual attraction. Franti said he accepts responsibility for not recognizing the power imbalance created by age difference and headliner status and said he should not have allowed the romance. Franti reportedly lost management and canceled upcoming performances and a cruise.
I'm aware of the recent posts this artist made about our relationship, and while I support her need to express herself publicly, the relationship was completely consensual, based on mutual feelings and attraction, Franti said in the post. I vehemently dispute any version of the story that says otherwise. He continues on to say he takes full accountability for not recognizing the power imbalance as she was younger than me, and I was the headliner on the tour.
I'll only say this once. This is something I've never spoken about publicly, and have been holding for 8 years now it has plagued my body, spirit and mind, in subliminal and overt ways, for my entire 20s, Canal wrote. She explained that she only decided to post about the incident which occurred when she 19 only earlier this year, when I was a
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