By Matt Meyle
On Thurs. March 15 many Grand Rapids electronic dance music enthusiasts had probably spent their morning in anticipation of the Datsik Ninja Nation tour concert at The Intersection, only to find out the show would be cancelled.
When a show is cancelled, fans typically provide some negative feedback about the artist and how they are upset because they paid good money to be entertained. However, Datsik cancelled for reasons that will give him a lot more negative media than just disgruntled fans.
Troy Beetles, better known as Datsik by his 1.3 million Facebook fans and 903,979 monthly Spotify listeners, has been accused by several females via social media (Note: Comments by Datsik and the alleged victims contain profanity, please read with discretion), claiming they were raped by the artist after being invited onto his tour bus following his performances.
After allegations of rape were reported against Datsik, the DJ quickly posted to Facebook to let his fans know why he cancelled the remained of his tour.
“The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind of emotion and reflection. In light of the recent allegations against me, I am canceling all the remaining tour dates and pulling myself off all future festivals. To anyone who has supported me, has faith in me or has offered to help me, I thank you.”
The DJ also changed his Twitter profile to private, meaning only his approved followers can view his tweets. Billboard.com was able to catch his tweet expressing his outrage against the allegations before the artist switched his account to private (readers can view his quote via Billboards’ website due to vulgarity the tweet contains).
No criminal charges have been filed against Datsik to date, and he has not directly responded to the allegations made by multiple women.
“Basically, I didn’t believe the news when I saw it,” Grand Rapids Community College student, Caleb Gillis, said after reading that the concert, and in turn, his evening plans, had been cancelled. “My friend group was super excited to see him. I’m a huge Space Jesus fan and he was set to open for Datsik. I’m pretty mad honestly. Datsik let down thousands of people who were planning on seeing him at any point this year. I thought there’s no way this successful DJ would need to take advantage of girls. He has millions of fans who love him. Why would he even want to treat these girls like objects?”
Multiple posts on Twitter and Facebook share similar stories of being given a “Datsik” media pass with the artist’s logo across the top with “All access – Media Pass – Escort Needed” written underneath. Unlike the other press passes, “All access” and “Media Pass” were crossed out, leaving only the words “Escort Needed” on the Media pass with the same fake name. Inside the little white box at the bottom to identify the cardholder, was written the term “Tulsa.”
The “Tulsa” ticket was a one way pass onto the tour bus for a night the girls would never remember, unfortunately, resulting in a morning they would never forget.
Evidence against Beetles had been Tweeted by the man himself, back in 2011. “Tulsa spelt backwards is ‘a slut’” was the way Datsik announced he was on his way to Tulsa, AZ for a concert. His association with the phrase and the allegations coming from women who received these handouts are providing strong evidence against the EDM artist.
Stories surfaced on social media in 2011, and again in 2018, from the victims telling of being invited on the tour bus and then being given copious amounts of alcohol until they blacked out. Others shared stories of picking up their friends after Datsik’s concert, who were intoxicated and left outside in the dead of winter with limited clothing.
There has been history of shady activity from Datsik in the past and once tweeted about the term rape while on tour in 2011. He wrote, “rape is such a strong term, I prefer the term struggle snuggle” followed by a cringing, “haha,” the same day he tweeted about the term “Tulsa.”
The dubstep DJ has stepped down from his recording label, Firepower Records, and management and PR firms, Deckstar and Circle Talent Agency, both cut ties with the artist as soon as allegations against him began to surface. The remainder of the Ninja Nation Tour has been cancelled and Grand Rapids was the first city to experience this backlash as a result of the allegations.
The Intersection apologized to fans for the cancellation of the event via Facebook and promised to refund the tickets to anyone who had purchased one. Fans who are upset and want their money back can visit The Intersection’s box office to receive a full refund. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Collegiate reached out to management at The Intersection, however they weren’t immediately available to comment on the concert cancellation.
“I’m just happy the girls came forward when they did,” Gillis said. “Otherwise the next girl he drugged could have been from Grand Rapids.”
The constant media attention to the #MeToo movement has inspired women to speak up against Datsik. As women began to accuse Datsik, more women took to social media to share their stories. Time will tell what will come of the allegations. Will this open the door to the inclusion of musicians within the accusations of sexual assault? There is no way of knowing whether or not more people will speak up against other aggressors, but the door has been unlocked to the world of music. The only hope is that the victims find help in recovering and that potential victims have been saved from a life altering event.
