Dave Matthews Band has has announced violinist Boyd Tinsley is no longer with the band, after a former mentee accused him of sexual harassment and inappropriate touching in a lawsuit filed in Washington on Thursday.
The accusations were brought against Tinsley by trumpeter James Frost-Winn, who worked with Tinsley in the band Crystal Garden.
Frost-Winn alleges in his complaint that Tinsley engaged with him in a variety of inappropriate ways beginning in 2015, including making verbal sexual comments, physically touching and sexting, and communicating to Frost-Winn that he ‘owed him’ for making providing ‘this life’ by making him a part of the Crystal Garden band, which Tinsley produced and managed.
Tinsley released a statement on Friday denying the allegations against him.
Dave Matthews Band has announced violinist Boyd Tinsley is no longer with the band, after former mentee James Frost-winn accused him of sexual harassment and inappropriate touching in a lawsuit filed in Washington on Thursday; Tinsley and former Crystal Garden trumpet player Frost-Winn are seen here playing together in Virginia in April 2016
Tinsley told NBC on Friday, ‘I will defend myself against these false allegations.’
Tinsley called the account of the allegations against him as published by Consequence of Sound resulting from an interview with Frost-Winn one-sided, adding, ‘These allegations have caused embarrassment for my family, my friends, and my fans. I will fight in and out of court to repair the damage that has been done.’
Tinsley said, ‘I only wish the reporter would have spoken to me first, so they would have heard the truth.’
However, the final line of the post by Consequence of Sound reads, ‘Tinsley did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story.’
After the filing of the lawsuit became public, a representative for Dave Matthews Band issued the following statement to Billboard on Thursday:
Tinsley took a break from Dave Matthews Band on February 2
‘Though Boyd is no longer a member of the band, we are shocked by these disturbing allegations and we were not previously aware of them.’
Frost-Winn’s lawsuit against Tinsley is the latest in the #MeToo movement, a campaign focused on holding those in power accountable for abuses in the workplace, including sexual harassment, exploitation and assault.
The social media campaign was spurred in October with reporting on accusations against former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, but was started offline more than a decade ago by Bronx-born activist Tarana Burke.
Frost-Winn, who first met Tinsley in 2007, according to the complaint, was involved with Tinsley’s Crystal Grand band project from 2014 to August 2016.
It was during the course of that relationship that Frost-Winn alleges Tinsley created a hostile work environment for the trumpet musician, where sexual harassment and misconduct took place that caused him ‘loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, and humiliation.’
The lawsuit alleges that after one all-night recording session at Tinsley’s recording studio compound in Charlottesville, Virginia, Frost-Winn was awakened to find Tinsley ejaculating next to him while he slept, with Tinsley’s hand on Frost-Winn’s buttocks.
Tinsley told NBC on Friday, ‘I will defend myself against these false allegations’
Tinsley wrote in an email, ‘These allegations have caused embarrassment for my family, my friends, and my fans. I will fight in and out of court to repair the damage that has been done.’
Tinsley and Dave Matthews of Dave Matthews Band perform during the final day of Dave Matthews Band Caravan at Lakeside on July 10, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois
This incident is said to have escalated, after Frost-Winn woke up two previous times to Tinsley touching his leg, ‘putting his feet on his buttocks and rubbing his back,’ which Frost-Winn told him to stop before going back to bed.
Frost-Winn claimed this left him feeling so ‘humiliated and scared’ that later, after sharing details about the incident with others involved with the band, he decided to leave on flight back to San Francisco, which he demanded that Tinsley provide.
Tinsley is claimed to told Frost-Winn he ‘messed up’ and had ‘confused his pills’ and that the incident would not be repeated.
In 2016 while living with his Crystal Garden bandmates in a house provided by Tinsley in Seattle, Frost-Winn alleges Tinsley told him he planned to ‘sexually exploit him for the band’s success,’ calling him a ‘a sex symbol’ and said at one point that he was ‘masturbating at the thought of a sexy photo shoot of James.’
Other claims include that Tinsley would demand the band members’ dirty socks, and became enraged when Frost-Winn got back together with an ex-girlfriend, telling the band that they should not be dating anyone.
The suit claims that the last straw for Frost-Winn came in August 2016, when Tinsley brought up the ejaculation incident out of nowhere with both Frost-Winn and another Crystal Garden band member, talking about ‘the time he had masturbated next to James.’
The complaint states Tinsley said that ‘the reason he did it’ was because of ‘the way James looked while he was sleeping’ and that ‘he could not stop himself,’ which was at odds with Frost-Winn’s recollection of Tinsley telling him he had ‘mixed up his pills.’
Frost-Winn’s suit said he became so distraught at this realization that he immediately flew home to San Francisco and soon after announced he was leaving the band.
After that time, Frost-Winn alleges he became depressed to the point that he could not bring himself to undertake any solo performances, that the culmination of events caused his relationship to end and he became suicidal.
Tinsley took a leave of absence from the band on February 2, which is the same day that Frost-Winn issued a demand letter to the violinist, seeking to settle this matter out of court.
Tinsley took a leave of absence from the band on February 2, which is the same day that Frost-Winn issued a demand letter to the violinist, seeking to settle this matter out of court
Tinsley announced that decision on Twitter, writing:
‘I need to take a break from the band & touring 2 focus on my family & my health 4 a while. I will miss you guys & my brothers in the band but I’m somewhat worn out & need 2 spend more time with my family & 2 bring more balance to my life. Thanks 4 ur Love. #peaceandLoVE.’
Representatives for Tinsley responded to the letter asking for an extension and additional documentation, while calling Frost-Winn a ‘session musician’ rather than an employee of Tinsley.
Frost-Winn’s lawsuit describes how the two first met at a cafe in 2007, and their relationship continued from there. In 2009, Tinsley allegedly provided Frost-Winn with backstage passes to the San Francisco festival Outside Lands where Tinsley was performing, and invited Frost-Winn back to his hotel room after the show.
Frost-Winn stated in the complaint that he declined to join Tinsley at the hotel, and later texted him that he only wanted to be friends, to which Tinsley replied that Frost-Winn had ‘nothing to worry about.’
Their friendship continued through to 2014, when Tinsley first broached the subject with Frost-Winn about being a part of Crystal Garden, which he pitched as a ‘boy band’ project around which Tinsley would create a documetary chronicling the group’s rise to fame.
On Wednesday, the official Twitter account for Dave Matthews Band posted a tweet in celebration of the musician’s birthday
In a series of tweets posted on May 11, Tinsley announced upcoming music from the remaining members of Crystal Garden
‘In retrospect, [Tinsley] was absolutely grooming me,’ Frost-Winn told Consequence of Sound in an interview published on Thursday.
‘I considered him like a brother, my family, especially after my mother passed — he was one of the positive role models in my life. I invested a lot into a relationship that was ultimately very bad for me. I first met him being homeless and 18 and new to experiencing the world. I felt very betrayed at the end of this.’
Frost-Winn told Consequence of Sound of another questionable incident that he said occurred in New York City in 2015. Frost-Winn said that when he brought up that he would be watching a New England Patriots-New York Giants game at a bar, Tinsley ‘immediately got five tickets. When he did it, he said: “You better suck my dick or something.” I thought maybe that was a funny joke or something, but it wasn’t also 100% joking.’
Prior to the filing of the lawsuit by Frost-Winn, Dave Matthews spoke about Tinsley’s break from the group in an interview published on Monday by Vulture magazine.
‘I have a deep love for Boyd, and he has to deal with his stuff. In many ways I’m sure it would’ve been a lot easier for him to just say, “I’m good. Let’s go play.” But you can’t just throw yourself away, your wellness away, because you play violin in a band. It doesn’t make any sense to do that,’ Matthews said.
He continued: ‘I can’t say, “I can’t wait till he comes back,” because I don’t know what’s going to happen. But right now being away is better for him. Nobody is happy about this situation. Except that we’re happy he can figure some stuff out. I hope he does. But I’m going to miss having that whirling-dervish Adonis-Muppet over there on my right. I know the audience is, too. But we can’t serve that desire.’
On Wednesday, the official Twitter account for Dave Matthews Band posted a tweet in celebration of the musician’s birthday, writing:
‘Please join us in wishing Boyd Tinsley a Happy Birthday!’
In a series of tweets posted on May 11, Tinsley announced upcoming music from the remaining members of Crystal Garden. He wrote:
‘I want to let you know that Crystal Garden’s new song and video will be released next week. It’s pretty rad, that’s all I’ll say. I’ll give y’all the heads up before it’s released. Thanks #peaceandLoVE.’
Frost-Winn’s complaint shares similarities with a lawsuit filed against Tinsley in 2015 by Getty Andrew Rothenberg, Tinsley’s former financial advisor who was convicted of embezzling and pleaded guilty to wire fraud for stealing millions from Tinsley.
Rotheneberg’s lawsuit mentioned ‘starry eyed fans drawn to Tinsley’s cult of personality’ and a ‘dark side that Tinsley has gone to great lengths to hide.’ That lawsuit was dismissed.
Frost-Winn’s lawsuit is seeking $9 million in damages, Consequence of Sound reported.
A representative for Tinsley could not immediately be reached for comment.