Music

US band Yacht torpedo their song launch with sex-tape revenge-porn hoax

This week’s faking of an act of revenge porn by the Portland band ranks as one of the most ill-conceived music PR stunts ever

Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans from Yacht

Laurence Mackin
Wed May 11 2016 - 14:51

US act Yacht look to have sailed themselves into a PR storm, after an ill-conceived promotional stunt backfired spectacularly.

Earlier this week, the band, made up of Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans – who are also a couple – put out a message on Facebook claiming they had been the victims of a revenge- porn scam. The band said a sex tape they had made was stolen and released, without their consent.

In an emotional post, they asked fans not to download or view the tape from those who took it, writing: “Just because we are public figures does not mean we asked for this. Like anyone, we still deserve to have a choice about what we share with the world. Today we no longer have that choice.” In a move that is now familiar, they decided to “get out in front of it”, and sell the video for $5 on their site instead. So far, so unfortunate, and a horrible indication of the state of the world we live in.

Except, the theft was faked. In an even further horrible indication of the state of the world we live in, it seems Yacht devised the scheme to promote a new music video called I Wanna F**k You Til I'm Dead.

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Shifting blame
After reporting on the initial story, the website Jezebel dug a bit deeper and revealed the scam. Yacht had actually emailed other staff at the site weeks beforehand, giving them a heads-up on their plan to fake a sex-tape leak. The band did actually release a tape on to porn sites, and got some celebrity friends to tweet about it. They then put out a further statement, blaming "press outlets" for making "the incredibly irresponsible leap from 'celebrity sex tape', which is the cultural trope this project explicitly references, to 'revenge porn'."

Understandably, organisations who help and support victims of sexual abuse, are infuriated. The UK introduced legislation to tackle revenge porn in April 2015. In Ireland, revenge porn is poorly provided for under Irish law, leaving the Garda with limited scope to act, according to the Children Protection and Human Exploitation Bureau. Motormouth Media, which works with the band, were quick to point out it had nothing to do with the stunt.

This might just be the worst PR idea in pop history, and has the potential to derail their career.