The time I apologized, that’s NOT the only apology video that exists! The song was intended to be “the band’s commentary” on the “situation”. This wasn’t a rumor about a groupie and a rock star; it was a suggestion of sexual assault. Before, if I said something, the entire fandom was on my ass!

Their fight came to a head on July 10th 2010, when the former friend posted to the internet ‘gossip’ website “StickyDrama”, bringing attention to Torres’ sexual relationship with Leonhardt and the subject of their rape the year previous. In 2011, when Leonhardt was 12, they were coerced by an older teenager from New York – apparently identified as a fan of ‘Blood on the Dance Floor’ – into having sex and taking nude images of Leonhardt. That’s something you do about an adult ex, not what you do with a fucking 11 year old! After the assault, Leonhardt and Torres were in frequent online and in-person contact. So yeah, that video was never supposed to be consumed by the public. Additionally, Torres began selling designs referencing Leonhardt’s father’s rant as official ‘Blood on the Dance Floor’ merchandise. Leonhardt apologizing for speaking up is not the same as an admission of guilt. Every time I DID talk about it, it was “Oh, you’re a liar!” “But what about the time you apologized?” “But what about this and that?”. But the fact he got a “me” look-alike, who had makeup that is a replica of makeup that I did, in the music video is incredibly creepy!

Around June 2010, Torres began communicating with Leonhardt his intention to take them on tour with Blood on the Dance Floor and make music together, as he would frequently compliment Leonhard’s voice and poetry.

And those people were people who I thought were my friends, and I hung out with! I’m gonna just give it to them!” and then I would, and then they would just disappear with it. " Nowadays, people are a lot more understanding that, yes, there's a person behind that photo, there's a person behind that video. We're connected; it's not just a cold screen. According to Leonhardt, even at their young age, they were aware that adults having relationships with teenagers was illegal, but that this sort of predation was rampant, and normalized within the crunk/scene subculture they were a part of. I feel really bad about it now. It has a meaning to the person who put it there. …The fuck? But even now, I feel like people still sort of don't understand completely that what they do has an impact. This “relationship” continued throughout the summer of 2009, bleeding into Leonhardt beginning 6th grade in September, but after Torres’ arrest in Colorado for raping a 15 year old girl, Leonhardt found themself visiting Torres less frequently. (Note: Leonhardt’s “apology video” was released to the public in August 2011, however it, and at least 10 other “apology” videos taken by their classmates, were made and sent to Torres in private during, and before, June 2011. I never knew what the fuck happened.

[[ Warning, this post discusses rape and CSA, reader discretion is advised.

The song pleads the case that Torres is “too beautiful” to be a rapist, that Leonhardt wasn’t ‘truly’ a fan of his, and goes on to encourage self harm and suicide to the 11 year old. From this point forward Torres latches on to the false narrative that Leonhardt had been the one that “started” the rumors about him being a sexual predator on StickyDrama, despite Leonhardt not wavering in their defense of Torres, and begins to further “retaliate” against Leonhardt through Blood on the Dance Floor. According to them, there were 30-40 attendees, the vast majority of which were underage, and Torres was dancing and interacting with underage girls inappropriately for the majority of the event. In late June of 2010, Leonhardt had gotten into a fight with a close friend that they had confided in about their “relationship” with Torres. I’m just saying that I’m sorry and everything and I love you guys to death! Following the assault, Torres continued sexually grooming Leonhardt in person and over social media before cutting all ties with them in July 2010, following the internet and media attention surrounding them. I’m glad I get to tell how I met him because that’s an important story of how he was basically using his friend and the people he knew to introduce ‘Blood on the Dance Floor’ to young kids. I’m in foster care… I had been locked up in mental institutions, and just like “You Done Goofed” said I have to go to counselling now, but it’s not because of you.

They explain in the video that their mother had been trying to get in contact with Torres about the article, but Torres had already cut contact with Leonhardt.

]]. I love BOTDF, basically all the CDs I have are BOTDF now.

[…] That barely, BARELY registers on the Richter scale of like, the crazy shit that Dahvie did! In retrospect, they recognize that they had the feeling that this was not the first time he had manipulated underage girls into performing sexual acts on him, as the entire interaction struck them as very “methodical” – it was as if he had this exact conversation, and instructed how to perform oral sex in this way, many times before. The “Death To Your Heart” music video was released on October 11, 2010, barely 3 months after the incident had occurred. As soon as Leonhardt was made aware of the post, they began denying the story and defending Torres in the comment section and to the moderators. The singer, whose stage name is Dahvie Vanity, was about 25 at the time, and Damien was a child. And then literally the last week of school I recorded one with my “friend”, and then in AUGUST, the video was recorded in June, in AUGUST my dad died […] and she released it on the day he died, only after seeing the headlines, to try to get more views! After the party had concluded, Leonhardt’s parents were late picking them up, and Leonhardt was left alone with Torres, who was helping other girls “clean up” in the bathroom. In December of 2011, Torres released a ‘Blood on the Dance Floor’ song titled “Revenge Porn”. The post included an unverified “screenshot” of Leonhardt’s Facebook profile, featuring a picture of them with Torres, and a copy of the 2009 arrest record procured by BVTV the year before (edited by StickyDrama to remove their watermark). So, I’m really sorry for everything, I’m sorry for accusing you of rape and everything, and I know that- all that happened and… I’m having this recorded by [student’s name] because I have no computer privileges now because of the foster care. And THEN ‘Blood on the Dance Floor’ released a song called “Revenge Porn”. I got death threats, kids at school would literally bully me, PHYSICALLY hurt me, because they were fans of ‘Blood on the Dance Floor’. Torres cut all communication with Leonhardt following the initial posting of the article, and would go on to claim he had no relationship whatsoever to Leonhardt (despite pictures of the two together on Facebook). But when he failed to follow up on his grandiose, empty promises Leonhardt began distancing themself from Torres, and was vocal about their annoyance with Torres within their personal social groups. […]. [[ Warning, this post discusses rape and CSA, reader discretion is advised. ]] Leonhardt claims that this was a direct response to the incident. You can’t find any records of it because it never happened, folks! Leonhardt says they were content at the time with having their “weird friendship” with Torres; being “friends” with an older man they idolize, “love”, and would “fuck”. And then he told me to do the same thing with my friends! And we ‘did stuff’, and he took pictures, and then he flew back and then I didn’t hear from him after awhile and those pictures got online. When I’ve been telling this story, it’s mostly been the story of how I met him. […] But, like, I knew the guy for a year! They became friends on social media with Torres, and the two began personal messaging and interacting with each other’s posts. This wasn’t the last time that Torres would make “indirect” reference to Leonhardt through ‘Blood on the Dance Floor’. The lyrics are directed at Leonhardt personally, accusing them of ‘lying for attention’ and specifically attempting to defame Torres.

Various sayings and memes were derived from these videos: “You done goofed”, “Because I back-traced it”, “The Cyber Police”, and “Consequences will never be the same”.

However, Torres continued to call Leonhardt on the phone and visit them and their friends whenever he was in Florida, well into the spring of 2010. Leonhard had spoken with Torres multiple times about the legal issues surrounding their “relationship”, to which Torres had repeatedly brushed off and attempted to condone: according to Leonhardt he stated that “they” (the teenagers and children he had sex with) “knew what they were doing”, and therefore it wasn’t really “wrong”. Hi Dahvie; hi Jayy; hi Sally; hi the whole BOTDF spectrum, it’s Jessica Rose, aka “Jessi Slaughter” here. Torres then coerced Leonhardt into performing oral sex on him in the bathroom. In their interview with Repzilla, Leonhardt explains that although they would visit Torres once or twice a month, either at their own house, his, or at shows and parties, they were “one in twenty or thirty other girls” he was “seeing” at any given time. Leonhardt was aware Torres was sexually active with other (primarily underage) girls on tour, and that he had “older” girlfriends. Jessi Slaughter went on to be cited as the perfect example for why parents should be involved in a child’s online activities, and she was referred …

Leonhardt was introduced to Torres and his music through Myspace in March 2009. That’s what happened to me, I was given a CD and told to add him on Myspace. But in this case, for us, this is where all the rumors started… but then yet the girl still made a video explaining why… you know… she made the video and yet people still believe in this.

Leonhardt, who now identifies as non-binary, is previously known as “Jessi Slaughter,” the 10-year-old victim of a massive cyber-bullying campaign after they were rumored to be in a sexual relationship with Blood on the Dance Floor singer Dahvie Vanity (real name: Jesus David Torres) in 2010.