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Singer and songwriter Melanie Martinez announced the release of her latest album, Portals, on February 22, 2023, through a surreal Instagram update.
The Cry Baby singer had archived all her posts on the photo-sharing platform and shared snippets from the album, and on Friday, March 17, 2023, its lead single titled, Death, was released.
Amidst the fanfare for the album, many internet users brought up Melanie's s*xual assault accusations from 2017 by a former friend, Timothy Heller, who had tweeted:
"I have kept this secret for years, convincing myself that it wasn’t a big deal and I wasn’t hurt by it. The thought of accepting that my best friend r*ped me seems insane. The power she had over me grew into me having a hard time saying ‘no’ to her."
Since then, the issue has been surrounded by a lot of controversy and debate.
Timothy Heller alleged that Melanie Martinez coerced her into having s*x during a sleepover
In December 2017, Heller came forward against her former best friend Melanie Martinez in a series of tweets that revealed that the Play Date singer kept insisting they have s*x despite protests by the former.
Martinez questioned the reason behind Heller's refusal and stated that "it would be fun." Heller wrote:
"I never said yes. I said no, repeatedly. But she used her power over me, and broke me down. Just so there is no confusion, I was molested by my best friend."
The tweets further described how Heller said "every form of no," including falling asleep, working the next day, and saying that her boyfriend would be upset, all of which fell on deaf ears.
According to Heller, Martinez eventually pressured her into compliance and "performed oral s*x on her." She added that she was "penetrated with a s*x toy without being asked."
Heller wrote:
"The bottom line that I need to always remind myself is that: I said no. For TWO NIGHTS STRAIGHT. It doesn't matter that I didn't resist during the action. I had been broken down. She knew I didn't want to, I made it clear."
Heller, however, struggled to remember the exact date the incident took place and when the two friends separated.
Melanie Martinez's fans allegedly bullied Timothy Heller into silence
Martinez's fans and followers have been defending her ever since the news was first revealed. Some even claimed that the musician falsified the news to promote her new album.
Heller later claimed to being harassed and threatened by Matinez’s fans every single day in a heartbreaking Instagram post. Social media platforms too were filled with threads and posts that claimed she was lying.
After Heller's story spread, another woman came forward, detailing a similar incident where Melanie Martinez "begged her over and over to sleep with her."
Melanie Martinez has maintained that the act was consensual and that Heller "never said no." One of the strong points that favor Martinez is the lack of a clear timeline.
Portals is set to release on March 31, 2023.
