Yves Tumor Denies Sexual Assault Allegations From Multiple Women, Threatens Legal Action

A photo showing bite marks on a neck, paired with a screenshotted Instagram Close Friends story that was reposted online, sparked the allegations. On August 19, Twitter account @1likeaverage reposted a thread from the Reddit forum r/yvestumor claiming that 36-year-old experimental rock musician Yves Tumor (born Sean Lee Bowie, also known as Shanti) sexually assaulted a woman. In the original post, an anonymous account wrote: "Shanti (Yves Tumor) assaulted someone I know last week. She told me he forcibly groped her multiple times, bit her neck, pinned her to the ground, and stepped on her head with his shoe, among other things."

The same day the allegations surfaced, rapper and musician Angel Money posted on X claiming Tumor groped her "on camera" at the release party for Frost Children's album SISTER. She wrote, "We have to stop letting these men touch people however they want... I really like his work, but stepping on a girl's head is insane." Angel Money also shared a video that appeared to support her account. The FADER reached out to Angel Money's team for comment but had not received a response by press time.

Two more women who said they were present that night then posted on X, alleging similar harassment from Tumor at the same event. One said it was the night Tumor opened for Swedish House Mafia to a poor reception, adding, "He went from harassing people at one club to another." Another woman posted on August 20 saying that the person who kept grinding up against her throughout the show turned out to be "Yves Tumor," claiming he made every woman there uncomfortable.

Kidӓ Alleges Harassment During Tour, Claims She Was Denied Credit

On August 23, musician Kidӓ, who provided uncredited vocals on Tumor's 2023 single "Lovely Sewer," posted a thread on X calling her time working with Tumor "one of the most disrespectful experiences" of her career. She said she toured with Tumor during the 2023 Praise A Lord Who Chews… album run, "paying for my own travel and lodging the entire tour, while he partied and did drugs the whole time — once going five days without sleep — emotionally abused his girlfriend who was also on tour, and repeatedly tried to sleep with me." She added, "This isn't news. He's been a predator in fashion, music, and art circles for over a decade."

Kidӓ also claimed that label Warp Records offered her $1,000 for a buyout of her vocal rights without credit, just a week before the album's release. She said singer Diana Gordon, who provided vocals on "Kerosene," had a similar experience and no longer works with Tumor. In an email to The FADER, she said, "This isn't a case of forgetting to credit someone — it's a repeated pattern targeting women. Diana Gordon also wasn't credited on 'Kerosene.' If 'Lovely Sewer' had been properly credited, it could have significantly changed the course of my career — that song has been heard by millions, and until this week, almost no one knew I sang it. This isn't a small thing. It's a stolen opportunity in an industry where women already have to fight over scraps of visibility. My heart goes out to every woman brave enough to come forward."

On August 23, Tumor issued his first public response in a since-deleted Instagram Story, writing: "100% false, and heartbreaking. I will be taking strong legal action." The FADER has reached out to Warp Records and Tumor's team for comment but had not received a response by press time.

Since the mid-2010s, Tumor has earned both critical acclaim and commercial success for his genre-bending avant-rock work, with his most recent full-length album being 2023's Praise A Lord Who Chews… In recent years, he has toured alongside Swedish House Mafia and FKA Twigs, was slated to open for Turnstile this fall, and recently contributed to "Berghain," a track on Rosalía and Björk's album LUX.