Octavian Accused of Domestic Abuse By Former Partner

The rapper Octavian is facing accusations of domestic violence. In a statement published on Instagram, his former partner alleges that the French-British MC subjected her to “physical, violent and emotional abuse”, inflicting “unspeakable psychological damage”, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She is currently living in a different country, she said, for her own “safety and wellbeing.”

The Instagram post also explains why she has taken the decision to go public with the allegations now: “The reason I have decided to share my story now, just before his album release, is because I don’t want anyone to look up to this man. I particularly do not want young girls to listen to the dark music he makes to celebrate his abuse. He has an entire song about violently killing me with a machete called My Head which in a (since deleted) interview with DJ Semtex, Octavian admits to the song being about me and proudly laughs calling it ‘art'.”

The interview his ex-partner is referring to took place in a Spotify podcast called Who We Be Talks. When the subject of the song is raised, Octavian says, “I was breaking up with my girl, my girl was in the studio… I was writing these lyrics. Everything on that track is about a moment. It’s very basic, exactly what was happening in that time. All these dark thoughts I had in my head.”

His ex-partner writes, “Never in a million years did I believe that I'd endure the violence of being pushed down stairs, attacked with weapons, that I would be struck in the face, thrown out into the streets, dragged out by my hair, or that I'd be gagged and silenced by somebody I loved.”

She ends the statement by urging women who are suffering domestic abuse to leave their partners. She also shared a video on Twitter, which appears to show Octavian attacking her (TW: it may be distressing to watch).

Octavian had not responded to VICE’s request for comment at the time of publication, but he has strenuously denied the allegations elsewhere. On his Instagram story he wrote, “liars can’t lie forever”, “someone waits, does that right before my album to try ruin my life and i’m the bad guy…kmt. The truth is coming. Don’t beg friend after", and “kmt…all this just cause i broke up with a girl. Evidence that the girl is obsessed and will never let me alone or let me win coming soon…evidence that that video is me trying to get my phone to book an uber to leave…coming soon” and, most recently, “I will not speak without evidence. What u are witnessing is real life abuse. Good will win.”

The fall-out to the allegations has been swift. When VICE reached out to Octavian’s PR company for comment, they replied, “After these allegations have come to light, we have stopped all work with Octavian as we cannot condone, nor support abusive behaviour.”

Octavian’s name also appears to have been removed from the website of his record label, Black Butter. His now-former management company, Metallic Inc., posted a statement on Instagram, reading, “As of 11th September 2020 we are no longer managing nor working with Octavian. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”