Brand New’s Jesse Lacey faces new grooming allegations ahead of reunion tour

With the full U.S. Brand New reunion tour launching later next month, another woman has come forward with her story of grooming involving lead vocalist Jesse Lacey in 2006–2007, including sharing photos. (Similar allegations involving Lacey first surfaced in 2017.)

In an article titled A Call for Accountability: Why Jesse Lacey and Brand New Should Not Be Touring Right Now, a woman named Aiyana recounts how she initially met Lacey after a show when she was 15, which led to hours spent chatting on AOL Instant Messenger, playing online video games, and eventually Lacey having dinner with her family and taking her around New York City.

Aiyana shared:

After we had dinner with the band and returned to our home state, Jesse initiated regular contact with me through AIM. He texted me several times a week and invited me to play games with him (World of Warcraft, Yahoo! Games — sometimes for 6–7 hours at a time). I felt like I was at the center of his world. As a 15-year-old, it felt thrilling to have someone I admired so deeply establish regular connection with me.

The story illustrates how, throughout these interactions, Lacey consistently snuck in remarks about love, made sexual innuendos, and emphasized keeping their relationship a secret—especially after some of their communications were leaked online. 

After one show, I received a text message from the tour manager that said something 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." While it felt playful at the time, it also left me feeling unsettled. There were other instances where comments were made about my friend's appearance, such as remarks about her chest that seemed to suggest her display of her body could lead to getting him in trouble. Comments about the irony of being with two girls as young as we were while strolling past a courthouse together. These things would often upset us, but Jesse would quickly try to smooth things over with gestures such as hugs or kissing us on our temples. This type of push-and-pull behavior became something I recognized as part of my interactions with him, where teasing or embarrassing remarks were often followed by validation or affection. It left me feeling unsure about where the boundaries truly lay in our relationship.

Read Aiyana's full story on Medium.