One of the most popular authors on YouTube was accused of sexually assaulting another social media influencer, only for the accuser to delete her accusation and post multiple apology videos.
Daniel Greene, who has written three popular fantasy books and boasts more than 500,000 YouTube subscribers, was accused of sexual assault by fellow influencer and author Naomi King on February 11 of this year. King posted a now-deleted video of herself crying and claiming that two years earlier, “Greene threatened to wipe me off social media,” adding that if she disappears, “you’ll know who did it,” according to pop culture news website Sportskeeda.
King then claimed that a video she made in June 2023, where she said a “friend that turned out not to be a friend” had sexually harassed her, was actually about an encounter she had with Greene. She claimed that after she posted that video, Greene’s legal team sent her a cease and desist letter demanding she take the video down or face a lawsuit. King in her February 11 video claimed she ignored the letter but never heard anything else from Greene’s attorneys.
King then said in her video that in May 2023, she planned to meet Greene in Las Vegas and waited for him by “getting baked by the pool.” She claimed she planned to hang out with Greene as a friend, but that when he arrived, he allegedly pushed her into sexual activity even though, she claimed, she was “half asleep and on drugs.” She claimed she kept resisting and eventually Greene masturbated on her. The next morning, she said, they talked about the encounter and agreed that the previous night shouldn’t have happened, but that they would remain friends. King claimed that Greene did the same exact thing as soon as they were alone again.
After the Vegas trip, King said she reached out to Greene’s fiancée and told her about what happened, saying that she “needed her to know that I didn’t want it.” In this video as well, King kept crying and claimed other people had accused Greene of similar actions.
Two days after King posted her video accusation, Greene responded in his own video, saying: “This is an important message in response to various false allegations made against me by Naomi King of alleged sexual assault in a campaign launched on YouTube and more. Let me be clear. I had consensual sex with Naomi King. Yes, it was an affair.”
Greene also said in his video that he had “clear and convincing” evidence that the encounters were consensual, though he didn’t present it at that time. He also said he planned on suing King for “libel.”
Even with Greene’s denial, commenters flocked to support King and condemn Greene, as is the norm when women make accusations of sexual assault — even before any proof is provided.
On February 17, King posted another now-deleted video, this time walking back her allegations and saying she agreed to meet up with Greene because he planned to pay for the trip and give her money, which she wanted for a tattoo, according to Sportskeeda. She also said that Vegas was not the first trip she took with Greene, even though she had said previously that it was. In this new video, she also said she lied about being assaulted, saying she undressed in front of him and agreed to be his “sugar baby.”
She went on to profusely apologize to those who have actually been sexually assaulted.
“I hurt so many people, it was not my intent,” she said. “I genuinely thought I was doing something good. I am not okay with my behavior. It’s really gross. I agree with your comments and I am going to take a step back and reflect. I don’t like this version of me. So, I’m going to put an end to this and I’m going to acknowledge my faults. I stand by trauma, but I don’t stand by my behavior. I’m sorry.”
Though she didn’t apologize to Greene for her accusations, the tide turned against her, with commenters saying she was “in full meltdown mode” and suggesting she seek professional help.
After King posted her apology video, Greene posted a video focusing on how King said, “I wish I could take it all back, it was not worth losing what we had. I wish I’d never gone to Vegas.” He used King’s video as vindication for himself.
On February 23, King posted yet another now-deleted video apology, in which she said her last apology “was not me admitting to falsely accusing anybody” but also saying she was leaving the internet for a while. Comments on the video were incredibly critical of her, with people writing that they could no longer believe a word King said, especially since she was continuing to post after previously saying she was going to check into a mental health facility and leave the internet. In that video, which is still on YouTube, King also contradicts herself, saying her encounter with Greene was not consensual but that she was not accusing him of sexual assault.
Greene followed up on King’s numerous apology videos, sharing a post that alleges her “malicious intent.” In the post shared by Greene, King insists that she stood by her claims that Greene pressured her into sexual activity she didn’t want, and that she took down her apology video because “people were taking it as an admission to falsely accusing.”
But in private messages from a third party Greene claims were shared to him, King was told that people called Greene a rapist because of what King said, and that people supported her for her accusation. The discussion is apparently about King’s apology, because the third party says “that’s why everyone was talking about survivors in your comments.”
King allegedly responds to these messages with an upside down, laughing turtle image and the word “oops.”
The third party then asks: “What do you mean oops[?]” Naomi allegedly responds by saying, “Well, we’ll see what happens.”
This, Greene says in his video, is proof that King is not stopping her allegations against him.
“I have a right to defend myself in the court of public opinion and law,” Greene said in his video, before claiming that King is “making light” of the experiences of sexual assault survivors.
Since Greene’s video, he has not posted anything more about King, and King’s channel, which had more than 130,000 subscribers, appears to have been deleted.
King did not respond to a Daily Wire inquiry, but Greene’s spokesperson Mike Paul told The Daily Wire: “Unfortunately, due to pending and serious litigation, as well as criminal investigations with law enforcement currently in both the US and Canada, we have no further comment at this time.”
Paul did not respond to further inquiry, asking for information about the litigation and criminal investigations.
No comments:
Post a Comment