Note: This article contains graphic depictions of alleged domestic abuse that some may find disturbing.
Last October Jahseh Onfroy, also know as XXXTentacion, was charged with aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment, and witness-tampering after accusations were made that he abused his pregnant girlfriend.
According to the original arrest report, XXXTentacion repeatedly punched and kicked his pregnant girlfriend until her eyes were swollen shut and she could not see. She escaped and called the Miami Beach Police Department, where the initial arrest was made.
The details of the alleged abuse were very few, until now. Pitchfork obtained the 142-page victim’s testimony, delivered in January to a Miami public defender.
The first alleged incident of abuse occurred in late May-early June, two weeks after the couple moved in with each other. He smashed and destroyed her iPhone after she had complimented a male friend’s jewelry. Later that night, XXXTentacion asked her to choose between a “barbecue pitchfork” and a “barbecue cleaner.” The chosen weapon would then be used inside her vagina. She ultimately went with the fork and passed out while he was scratching her inner thigh with it. The fork was never inserted into her genitalia.
The abuse did not stop there. In July 2016 the couple moved to Orlando. When asked to “pinpoint the days he threatened to kill you” by the public defender she responded, “Well, when we lived in Orlando, it was literally like every day.”
A week or so after the couple moved to Orlando they were heading to a show and were listening to one of XXXTentacion’s songs on the way. The victim was singing along to his verse and then proceeded to hum along with the featured artist’s verse. This did not make him happy and once the couple arrived home he asked her “why [she] was singing his friend’s part of the song, if [she likes] him, why [does she] like him, like [does she] ever look at his Twitter,” the victim told the public defender.
Not pleased with her response he “head-butted her, punched her, stomped on her, and put her in the bathtub, where he continued hitting and kicking her.”
“He also wanted to cut out my tongue because I was singing the song,” the victim reported.
She tried to escape by running down the street but he caught and tackled her. As a result, she suffered various injuries including black eyes, bruises, scratch marks, and a lump on the back of her head.
These are only two examples of the alleged abuse. If you would like to read the highlights of the full testimony Pitchfork has all the details here.
Reading the disturbing details of the violence he inflicted upon his pregnant girlfriend probes the question: Why does XXXTentacion have a career in music?
On August 25, he released his debut album, 17, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200. With competition like Lil Uzi Vert, Fifth Harmony, and Old Dominion this was no easy task; however, despite the charges against him he still managed to have a top 5 debut album, an incredible achievement for any artist stepping out into the music scene.
Thus far in music history, abuse allegations have not stopped artists from being successful. Take a look at Chris Brown who has had eight Billboard 200 Top 10 albums despite the abuse accusations against him.
Take artists such as XXXTentacion and Chris Brown as a red flag. Abusive behavior did not stop these men from being successful no matter how disturbing or cruel their actions may have been.
