Artist News

Ray BLK accuses rapper Ambush Buzzworl of sexual assault

By | Published on Tuesday 23 June 2020

Ray BLK

Ray BLK has announced that she is taking time away from social media to avoid any further trauma after making posts this weekend in which she described how the rapper Ambush Buzzworl sexually assaulted her at a YouTube-organised event earlier this year. Meanwhile, he has admitted to acting “stupidly” during and following the incident that she describes, while adding that he will “continue to learn”.

In her original post, BLK explained how, having just briefly met the rapper once before, they both then attended the YouTube-organised event in February. “I was hanging my coat up when he entered, and when I said ‘hi’ to him, he said ‘hi’ and then proceeded to aggressively grab and shake my breast saying ‘rah you look nice'”.

Bravely challenging Ambush shortly after the incident had occurred, she says that he responded by remarking “what can I say Ray, I saw your breast and they were looking nice”. Despite her shock and anger, she writes, “I realised if I address this in the manner I wanted to right there, I would have turned that incredibly positive YouTube event completely upside down”.

So instead, she decided to contact the rapper the next day via text and then audio messages. In that exchange – which she subsequently posted in full to Twitter – Ambush initially responded with a flippant “my bad” and an emoji of a monkey covering its eyes.

Not accepting that response, she wrote back that a simple ‘my bad’ wasn’t “really good enough” given he had sexually assaulted another artist. He did then apologise, and BLK accepted the apology, but then he sent further messages backtracking somewhat.

BLK writes how, in those subsequent messages, he said: “Why you getting onto me for … I’m a flirty guy innit … why you saying words like that, I’m not a pervert, you should allow me”.

She stresses again that this was only the second time she had met the rapper. Though, as she also points out, even if they had been better acquainted “there’s still no excuse”.

In her original post BLK also explained that she hadn’t gone public about the incident sooner because a friend told her “we should be protecting a black man and not damaging his career, and that potentially other male artists won’t want to fuck with me if I come out and talk as I will seem like someone who creates problems and they’ll probably just defend him anyway”.

In a new Instagram message yesterday following the online response to her initial posts, she wrote: “I am very grateful to all those who have publicly supported me against my assault, particularly my fellow black women and men, as you know speaking up is even more so taboo in our community”.

“Sadly there is backlash even in finding the courage to speak up against a confirmed and admitted (not speculated) and unwanted assault which is sad”, she went on. “However, I hope my statements have given a voice to anyone who has felt voiceless”.

She concluded: “I’ve decided to withdraw from social media until further notice for my peace and to avoid further trauma”.

After initially not responding to BLK’s posts and the subsequent coverage of them, Ambush posted two audio messages to Twitter last night. Insisting that his initial apologies were “sincere”, he says that he clearly hurt his fellow artist much more than he realised.

Although at one point he tries to play down the actual incident itself – insisting he wasn’t aggressive and that he thought he was just being “playful” – he concedes that what he did was nevertheless “inappropriate and invasive”. And that his remarks in the audio messages the following day were, with hindsight, “stupid”.

He concludes: “I was stupid and all I can do is continue to learn”.



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