Recently, beloved rock band Brand New – who split in 2017 – delighted fans by playing several new shows and then revealing a 24-date U.S. comeback tour. Now, vocalist/guitarist Jesse Lacey is facing new grooming allegations mere days after that reunion tour announcement.
The Recent Allegations Against Lacey
This past Friday (April 4), a user named Aiyana made a post on Medium entitled “A Call for Accountability: Why Jesse Lacey and Brand New Should Not Be Touring Right Now.” She begins with the following clarification:
Disclaimer: The following account reflects my personal experience and perspective. It is based on my own memories and interpretations of events. I do not claim to speak for anyone else, nor am I making definitive statements about the intentions or behavior of others involved. This is my personal story, shared in the hope of raising awareness about grooming and power dynamics in the music industry.
Afterward, she describes her experiences in 2006 (when she was “a teenager at the height of adolescence, trying to navigate the complexity of identity, self-worth, and relationships”). She continues:
Brand New’s music defined that time for me, and like so many others, I idolized Jesse Lacey. His lyrics spoke to the vulnerability of youth, the pain of growing up, and the confusion of unrequited love. To be seen by him as someone worthy of his attention was intoxicating — it felt like a validation of my worth, my place in the world, and my identity as a young woman.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that my admiration was being manipulated. Jesse knew exactly how to make me feel seen, even special, using the power dynamic of a fan and a public figure to his advantage. His teasing remarks, like saying he wished I were older, or making me feel like I was the one he zeroed in on during his shows, were disarming and flattering. But these moments, however innocent they seemed, were part of a larger pattern of grooming.
From there, she gives extensive accounts of what happened (the full scope of which is too much to recap here, so you’re encouraged to read her complete post). She also discloses multiple photos of her experiences with Lacey, including ones that she says feature prior accuser Emily Driskill.
As explained by Stereogum, Aiyana details “meeting Lacey and his tour manager with her best friend.” Aiyana was 15 years old and her friend was 16 years old (whereas Lacey was roughly 10 years older than them). After giving Lacey “handmade gifts, he asked for [Aiyana’s] contact information,” and Brand New’s tour manager provided both of them “VIP access to various shows and tours, inviting them through AIM [AOL Instant Messenger]. They hung out at the tour bus regularly.”
Stereogum add:
At a show in Kansas [in July of 2006], Lacey allegedly became “playful” and “teasing,” and said something along the lines of, “If we’re gonna be friends, you’re gonna have to put up with a little teasing every now and then.” . . . [Lacey] would allegedly frequently make comments such as, “I wish you weren’t 15 years old.” After one show, the tour manager allegedly sent a text to Aiyana along the lines of, “You two are so cute — Jesse and I were just talking about how we want to snuggle with you both on the tour bus.”
Lacey would allegedly give shoutouts to Aiyana and her friend onstage and dedicate songs to them, and on one occasion he invited them to a lakehouse to swim and even offered to drive them to Walmart to buy swimsuits for them. They were not allowed to join the afterparty, but Lacey allegedly insisted on driving them back to [their] hotel.
When Aiyana, her friend, and Lacey were playing video games on the tour bus one night, Lacey was teasing Aiyana about something when she jokingly asked, “Why do you hate me so much?” Lacey allegedly responded, “I don’t hate you, the truth is I’m in love with you, but you’re just not old enough for me to marry you yet.”
When a Brand New fan who was friends with Aiyana got ahold of Aiyana and Lacey’s conversations and emailed them to Lacey, Lacey allegedly called Aiyana and her mother to insist to keep their relationship a secret. He said something along the lines of, “You’ve become a close friend, one of my best friends, actually… and although we understand our relationship, others might not without more context.” From then on, if she was talking to Lacey’s friends, Lacey would make a comment like, “Careful, she might take what you tell her and put it on the Internet.”
In her post, Aiyana also mentions:
In 2007, Jesse went out of his way to meet up with me on two separate occasions in New York City when I was visiting with my mother and sister. Jesse not only joined my family and I for dinner one night, but galavanted around town with me one-on-one, taking me to his favorite music shops and, surprisingly, gifting me a vintage polaroid camera. I remember that as soon as my mother was out of view, he put his arm around me and continued walking with me down the streets of New York holding me closer than he ever had before. Again — I was 16 years old at the time.
Finally, Aiyana reveals that Lacey’s actions led to her having “struggles with promiscuity, self-esteem issues, and the development of complex PTSD. . . . The feeling of being special, of being the one he chose, seemed to be simply part of his grooming process. And for those of us who were impacted, it’s a feeling that haunts us to this day.”
As of this writing, neither Lacey nor Brand New have responded to these newest allegations.
READ MORE: Setlist + Video – Brand New’s First 2025 Reunion Show Features 18 Songs
Previous Allegations Against Lacey
As already mentioned, this isn’t the first time Lacey has been accused of grooming. Back in November of 2017, Loudwire reported that Lacey was facing “multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, including solicitation of nude photos from two minors [Emily Driskoll and Nicole Elizabeth Garey].”
Specifically, Loudwire wrote, Garey’s since-deleted Facebook post found her writing about Lacey’s “attempts to groom her in 2003, when she was 15 years old. After meeting the band at a photoshoot, Lacey exchanged contact information with [her],” and she was “subsequently asked to send naked pictures of herself, which she consented to do. At the time, Lacey was 24.”
Afterward, “the contact between the two continued into Garey’s adulthood, and when she was in her early 20s, Lacey . . . engaged in a Skype video chat with her and she alleges that he masturbated.”
As for Driskill, Loudwire reported that she claimed that “Lacey’s sexual misconduct . . . took place when she was 16,” and that she was “also solicited for nude photos when she was 17.”
Loudwire continued:
Lacey allegedly sent lewd photos of himself in return and masturbated during Skype video chats with Driskill “countless” times as well, threatening that if she did not participate in his desires that her contact with and access to the band would be scaled back. She has also noted an encounter with the singer in the band’s green room at a show in Texas where he pinned her against the wall, engaging in unwanted physical contact. At the time of this alleged incident, she was 18.
Following these allegations, Loudwire confirmed, Lacey released a statement “owning up to is past, but never directly acknowledging the original accusations of grooming a minor.” In particular, Lacey explained that he “developed a dependent and addictive relationship with sex” early in his life while also reflecting on what he’s done:
The actions of my past have caused pain and harm to a number of people, and I want to say that I am absolutely sorry. I do not stand in defense of myself nor do I forgive myself. I was selfish, narcissistic, and insensitive in my past, and there are a number of people who have had to shoulder the burden of my failures. I apologize for the hurt I have caused, and hope to be able to take the correct actions to earn forgiveness and trust.
As Loudwire noted in 2024, Brand New already “intended on breaking up in 2018” (following the release of, and subsequent tour for, 2017’s Science Fiction). However, the accusations against Lacey prompted them to disband sooner.
Going back to Aiyana’s post, she also expressed that “Lacey should not be allowed to tour right now” because “to [her] knowledge, he has yet to name specific behaviors that were problematic — like the grooming, manipulation, and coercion — and he never reached out to the victims to attempt any form of restitution.”
Brand New’s Reunion
For several years after the initial accusations against Lacey, Brand New stayed disbanded. However, they reunited in December in 2024 via a “secret performance” in Nashville, Tenn. Last month, Brand New announced three 2025 reunion shows (which eventually took place in Texas, Kentucky and Tennessee), and at the end of March, they announced the aforementioned 24-date tour across the U.S.
They’re set to play from the end of May until the start of July, and at this point, it’s unclear if and how the most recent allegations against Lacey will impact those shows.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, resources are available for help. Visit the RAINN website (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) or dial 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673).
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