It’s a sad commentary on the state of pop culture and indeed culture in general that in the same year that Pitchfork’s Jessica Hopper released The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic, we’ve also seen numerous cases of blatant misogyny aimed at female music journalists.

As Tone Deaf previously covered, critically acclaimed songwriter Mark Kozelek, who performs under the moniker Sun Kil Moon, made numerous headlines for calling IndyWeek‘s Allison Hussey a “spoiled bitch rich kid blogger brat” and launching a misogynistic tirade at unnamed Uncut journalist.

An inexplicably incensed Kozelek took aim at the journo during a gig, singing that she “totally wants to fuck me” and explaining how she should “get in line, bitch”, before ironically launching into the songs ‘I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love’ and ‘Caroline’.

But this time, it’s an artist’s fans that have decided to take a warped sense of justice too far, selecting Pitchfork writer Meaghan Garvey as a target for torment. According to a series of tweets, an angry group of Drake fans are threatening to leak nude photos of Garvey.

Earlier this month, Garvey penned a critical op-ed about the Canadian rapper for Pitchfork titled I’m Breaking Up With Drake. In the article, Garvey, who was formerly an avid fan of the rapper, criticised the way Drake handled his much-publicised beef with fellow rapper Meek Mill.

“The dissonance between what Drake claims to represent—an honest, relatable, complicated auteur who has propelled himself from the bottom-ish into the pantheon of GOATs and implores us to “know ourselves”—and who he seems to really be is at once surreal and frighteningly familiar,” Garvey wrote.

The op-ed made its way onto the popular Kanye West fan forum Kanye To The, which almost maintains channels dedicated to other artists, including Drake. The article was discussed at-length in a thread titled Meaghan Garvey from Pitchfork GOES IN on Drake.

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However, while much of the discussion in that thread was reasonable and centred on the issues Garvey raised, in another thread closed to the public, something more sinister was happening and it soon came to the writer’s attention via a fellow hip-hop fan.

“OVO goons about to run up on you,” a Twitter user by the name of Enzo tweeted at Garvey, accompanying his ominous post with respective screenshots of a Windows and Mac desktop bearing folders apparently connected to Garvey.

“They even saying they gonna drop some nudes shits crazy [sic],” Enzo later added, though Garvey remained unfazed. “To be clear, this is a bunch of KTT Drake stans’ folder of info/pics of me? because that is a chill & reasonable use of your time,” Garvey tweeted, in reference to Eminem’s song about a crazed fan.

However, it soon became apparent that fans on the Kanye To The forum had allegedly managed to hack into Garvey’s personal folders, accessing private photos. “Even worse than nudes. There is something here that says “family” that’s what’s making me break down. Don’t you DARE,” she tweeted.

A Twitter user by the name of Dandre soon shared a screenshot of what was apparently a collection of Garvey’s private files, adding, “Ask me why I left [Kanye To The]………….. shit like this is why” adding that the files allegedly obtained by KTT users “have her info and pictures of her mother and sister”.

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“In this folder are photos of my baby sisters & my dead mom. congrats, guys. you did it,” Garvey later tweeted, before recounting a harrowing rape she experienced while on assignment covering an unidentified artist.

“You know what? in 2015, i was actually raped over this shit,” she tweeted. “Like, not a metaphor. i got invited to do a feature, & was raped. i was so excited to do a story, got plied w/ booze & drugs, & was raped. this is my real life. so honestly this shit is child’s play.”

“[And] afterwards, the guy blackmailed me & I said I would never tell anyone, because I was scared. so bring it the fuck on, honestly. because I’m tough enough, & I’m realer than yall, & I believe in myself. fuck you. and yall are NOT gonna run me out of this shit because it will be dismal without me.”

Complex Media scribe Huda Hassan has since contacted Garvey, suggesting she looking into “seeking legal advice about what can be done since this concerns a hack”. However, Garvey has not responded. Stay tuned to Tone Deaf for updates on this story as it unfolds.

If you, or someone you know may be dealing with sexual assault, please seek help: www.1800respect.org.au | 1800 737 732

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