Ever since Ducktails leader and former Real Estate guitarist Matt Mondanile was accused of sexual assault last week, several women have come forward with stories detailing their experiences with the guitarist. Now, Mondanile has yet another accuser, and it’s indie musician Julia Holter.
Holter, who contributed to Ducktails 2015 album St. Catherine and reportedly previously date Mondanile, shared a Facebook post saying that she believes and supports the women who spoke out against Mondanile, and that what they said lines up with her own experiences with Mondanile. She writes that “he does not have boundaries,” and that things got so bad between them that she “had to have a lawyer intervene and was afraid for my life”:
“Their allegations are in line with each other and they are in line with what I came to know about Matt in the past, which is that he does not have boundaries. In my experience, he was emotionally abusive to the point where I had to have a lawyer intervene and was afraid for my life. […]
This subject has been complicated for me to address because I’ve spent over two years now alone/confused about his behavior in my experience, and wondering if there was missing information. So these other accounts have helped me understand. When you’re in it, you question your own reality and you wonder if you are making things up or are you making a big deal out of nothing. It helps when others come forward to validate the fact that you weren’t wrong.”
Read Holter’s full post here or below.
The information that has come to light about Matt Mondanile’s behavior is extremely upsetting and I believe and want to give my support to all the women who are speaking out about their experiences with it.
They have told their accounts of his sexual misconduct to the press and to social media, and I understand why this was their route. It seems like perpetrators of sexual assault are commonly not brought to justice in the courts, as in the cases of friends and loved ones of mine who have been assaulted by people who were more powerful than them in various ways and got away with it with absolutely no charges and likely no repercussions of any kind. This way, these women’s voices can be heard, and Matt possible can be held accountable as needed, both as a private individual and as a public figure/musician.
Their allegations are in line with each other and they are in line with what I came to know about Matt in the past, which is that he does not have boundaries. In my experience, he was emotionally abusive to the point where I had to have a lawyer intervene and was afraid for my life. I have been candid about this experience with friends and loved one, and even on a professional level with people in the music world, for the past two years since it was happening, because I believed this transparency was important and it seemed as though the manipulation couldn’t have stopped with just me, though I had remained unaware until this past week of any others’ accounts of abuse.
This subject has been complicated for me to address because I’ve spent over two years now alone/confused about his behavior in my experience, and wondering if there was missing information. So these other accounts have helped me understand. When you’re in it, you question your own reality and you wonder if you are making things up or are you making a big deal out of nothing. It helps when others come forward to validate the fact that you weren’t wrong. Thank you to the women who have spoken out, and if there are others out there who find it too hard, that is understandable, and just know that you aren’t alone.
