Last month, we reported on Australian electronic duo Peking Duk, who went viral after posting a somewhat controversial Father’s Day message to their fans on their official Facebook page.
Now, another homegrown electronic luminary has gone viral with a Facebook post, but it’s far more serious and in many ways sadder than a tongue-in-cheek rip on former PM Tony Abbott.
Alison Wonderland took to Facebook yesterday to call out two commenters on her Instagram channel, who made jokes about how they would like to “rape” and “roofie” the Sydney DJ and producer.
“Yo I wouldn’t usually call people out but I feel like this time it is important,” Wonderland wrote. “Last 2 comments. This is not ok. Ever. I don’t care if it’s a ‘joke’. Not. Ok.”
Wonderland’s fans immediately got to tracking down the two commenters and began assailing them with abuse and sharing screenshots of their past Facebook posts in Wonderland’s comment thread.
“Seems like our friend Brody is a bit of a hypocrite,” wrote a fan, sharing an image of one of the commenters expressing outrage at a case of eight men who raped a young girl.
However, things soon got a little out of hand, with Wonderland’s fans targeting their vitriol towards the two commenters’ girlfriends and even their families, prompting the artist to respond.
Yo I wouldn't usually call people out but I feel like this time it is important. Last 2 comments. This is not ok. Ever. I don't care if it's a 'joke'. Not. Ok.
Posted by Alison Wonderland onMonday, October 5, 2015
Moving on from my last post, please please please stop sending abuse to the families and girlfriends of these guys.. it…
Posted by Alison Wonderland onMonday, October 5, 2015
“Side note,” she wrote. “To the people harassing these guys girlfriends.. please stop – it has nothing to do with them.. and Jacob Moore wasn’t involved either, let’s just hope these other guys both learn from this and move forward.”
“I hope anyone who has ever felt threatened by comments like these know that it’s totally acceptable to stand up for yourself and take it seriously. Humans need to be respected equally regardless of gender or job or wealth or education.”
“Any comment said to make someone feel threatened is a crime. Call me ugly, tell me you hate my music or my voice or whatever I don’t give a fuck about that shit, but implying that you want to give me a drug then rape me, joke or not, is just… oh my god… how is this even a thing?”
Wonderland also came to the defence of Jacob Moore, who was tagged by one of the Instagram commenters and quickly became caught in the crossfire, eventually reaching out to the DJ.
“I in no way had involvement with these comments what so ever (sic), I have no idea why I am even tagged,” he wrote, prompting Wonderland to issue several calls for fans to leave Moore alone.
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“Moving on from my last post, please please please stop sending abuse to the families and girlfriends of these guys.. it achieves nothing and they had nothing to do with it. Also I have been informed that Jacob was not involved,” she wrote.
When one commenter suggested Wonderland delete her post, implying she knew posting would cause “reactionary mob ‘justice'”, she replied, “When people threaten to rape me on a public forum i have a right to post it wherever i want.”
Wonderland previously hit out at the sexism she’s experienced in the Aussie music industry in an interview with Fairfax in which she explained why she shucks the label of “female DJ”.
In cases such as this, it’s important to remember the power of social media, wherein innocent people can quickly get caught up in the crossfire. Music fans would do well to remember to be careful with who they target online.
