Rodger Cleye accused of sexual harassment

@rodgercleye/TikTok @oliviakaelyn/TikTok

‘I’m telling my truth’: TikTok singer Rodger Cleye accused of sexually harassing 19-year-old (updated)

'I hope that you hear it.'

 

Tricia Crimmins

IRL

Posted on Aug 14, 2023   Updated on Aug 15, 2023, 11:46 am CDT

Rodger Cleye, who gained over 3 million followers on TikTok and is known for videos of himself singing, has been accused of sexual harassment.

In a TikTok posted yesterday, 19-year-old Olivia McCraw says that Cleye, 58, flew to visit her so that they could sing duets together. She alleges that Cleye made several unwanted advances on the trip and later accused her of being “manipulative.”

McCraw says while she was with Cleye in his hotel room, he went to the bathroom with the door open and then kissed her.

McCraw says that she didn’t feel she could say no to kissing him because they were alone and she was scared what would happen if she turned him down.

When McCraw later told Cleye that he had made her uncomfortable, she says he got angry with her and bombarded her with messages and videos. Some mornings she woke up to 45 text messages from him, including “videos of him singing in the bathtub,” she says.

She also says that he accused her of using him for fame and called her a “predator” and a “manipulative little girl.”

“I’m Olivia McCraw and I’m telling my truth,” McCraw says at the end of her TikTok, which had over a million views at the time of publication. “And I hope that you hear it.”

Cleye has since deleted posts he had of McCraw on his Instagram, and as of Monday evening, his TikTok account is no longer available.

@oliviakaelyn It took me a bit.. but with some messages grom him that were offensive, i decided to reveal my truth. I am Olivia McCraw and this is my story. Please know it is not ok for these things to happen. I have many reciepts and videos and am willing to share. I will not utilize slander. I will not hurt someone else. But i will not let someones “career” affect me from telling a TRUTH. I love you guys thanks for the support. #foryou #fyp #rodgercleye #rodgercleyeedit #music #hurt #rodgercleye ♬ original sound – Olivia McCraw

In follow-up videos, McCraw shows screenshots of comments that Cleye has made about her on Instagram that state that she is a teen mom, flirted with him extensively, and catfished him. McCraw denies all of his claims.

She also shared screenshots of their private messages in which Cleye allegedly says he wants to get to know her and sing with her, comments about their age gap, and says he wants to fight for their relationship.

He also allegedly says that she is a “manipulative girl,” asking if she enjoyed it when he rubbed her back—which McCraw says in her TikTok made her uncomfortable—and that he works with women as moderators for his TikTok live streams because “men don’t work for free.”

When Cleye posted on Instagram with McCraw last week, many of his supporters and viewers were concerned to see that he was spending time with someone as young as McCraw.

TikToker @babycorn.jpg posted a screenshot of Cleye’s Instagram post with McCraw, which is captioned “so beautiful and the landscape ain’t bad either,” and shows McCraw and a landscape. McCraw said in her viral video that the photo shows her backyard.

“I’m sorry but if a man who’s 58 years old is dating someone who is 19, they’re doing so because that is what they’re legally allowed to do,” @babycorn.jpg says. “They are going as low as they can.”

Following Cleye’s Instagram post, McCraw posted a TikTok from last week saying that she was grateful to Cleye for the opportunity to sing live on his TikTok.

Update 11:32am CT, Aug. 15: In an interview with the Daily Dot, Olivia McCraw said that she and Clay were never dating and that she hasn’t spoken to him after she blocked him on Saturday.

When asked if she would have classified her and Cleye’s interactions as a “friendship,” she said that it was strictly a collaboration, “but he said in the beginning he flew so he could get to know” her.

McCraw also clarified that the entire time they were in contact, Cleye knew she was 19.

She said since posting her video about her experience with Cleye, she has been victim-blamed.

“The hate after posting the video is mainly people saying I should’ve said no,” McCraw told the Daily Dot. “Or that I consented and am dumb that I didn’t do anything about it in the first place.”

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*First Published: Aug 14, 2023, 8:50 pm CDT