Last year, British rapper slowthai was charged with rape and subsequently dropped from the Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds festival lineups he was booked to perform at on the back of his 2023 album Ugly. His trial has now begun, with the Oxford Crown Court hearing from the prosecution that the artist born Tyron Frampton and his friend, Alex Blake-Walker, raped two women after the musician’s September 2021 concert at Bullingdon in Oxford.
The following article contains potentially triggering material relating to sexual misconduct. If you believe you have experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct and are looking for support, consult the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime to find resources in your area.
Frampton and Blake-Walker have denied the allegations, pleading not guilty to the three joint counts of rape and one of sexual assault in 2023, claiming that the women involved consented to all sexual activity. Representing the prosecution, Heather Stangoe argued that the two men met a group of women prior to the show and gave them VIP tickets [via The Guardian]. They met up again on Frampton’s bus after the gig before one of the women brought the group to her home.
At that point, Frampton allegedly stipulated two rules: “No phones and no boys,” Stangoe said, suggesting that this reflected the pair of men’s “mindset from the outset.” She proceeded to argue that he and Blake-Walker’s “sole purpose for going to that house was to secure sexual gratification,” regardless of consent.
After isolating the two women from their friends, the two men allegedly raped and sexually assaulted them, “joking” — which included discussing “tag teams,” contemplating swapping the girls, and high-fiving — as they did so. When the women’s friends realized what was happening and told Frampton and Blake-Walker to stop, the rapper apparently jumped from a balcony-style roof and ran away.
When the two women reported the incident to police that same night, Frampton and Blake-Walker were arrested and interviewed, both immediately denying the charges and claiming that “all sexual contact and acts were consensual.”
Frampton’s defence, Patrick Gibbs, responded to Strangoe’s remarks by arguing that the rapper meeting with fans after a concert was normal. He asked the jury to keep an open mind, reminding them that “what is in dispute is whether the women consented,” emphasizing “the difference between willingly consenting to something that is thrilling and exciting in the moment to then regretting it afterwards.”
Gibbs added that the “effect of celebrity” can lead people to “enthusiastically do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.” The trial is expected to go on for three weeks.
