Alabama Singer-Songwriter Kristy Lee Accuses Heath Sanders of Assaulting Her After Concert
Alabama singer-songwriter Kristy Lee alleges that BMLG artist Heath Sanders assaulted her and used homophobic slurs against her after a Saturday night (June 19) show at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Ga. In a statement released on Monday (June 21), however, Sanders claims that "she was the aggressor."
Both Lee and Sanders played Eddie's Attic, a well-known live music venue in Decatur, on Saturday night. Late that night, Lee cryptically posted on Facebook that "lots happened" after the show, and that she "ha[d] a lot to say" but was "still in shock."
"Last night after my show at Eddie’s Attic, I was physically assaulted in the greenroom by an artist named Heath Sanders. He not only physically assaulted me, he used multiple homophobic slurs against me," Lee, who is a lesbian, added in a Sunday (June 20) post, which also appeared on Instagram.
"I was hit multiple times in the side and back of the head, as well as choked," she details, noting that Sanders' guitar player, Casey Paraday, was nearby and "may or may not have been physically involved (I was blindsided), but he did not stop him either way until a couple minutes had past (sic)."
Lee's post notes that a police report about the incident was filed, but that Sanders was not taken into custody "as it was their word against mine — even though I had some physical markings." She says on Facebook, in an addendum to the original post, that Eddie's Attic "has been very supportive and has assured me that Heath will not be returning to their venue."
While many fans and followers expressed support for Lee after she posted about the alleged assault, others commented that they believe she is lying about what happened and called her hateful names. The latter replies prompted Lee to disable comments on Instagram on Monday afternoon.
As Lee's allegations circulated online on Sunday night, Sanders' social media had been locked down: As of publication time, commenting is limited on most of his Facebook and Instagram posts; his Twitter account was set to private until Monday evening, when he posted a statement of his own, claiming that "the type of physical contact she described on social media did not occur ... While the situation did escalate, I wasn't put in cuffs because she was the aggressor."
"I reacted with nothing more than defending and removing myself from the situation as she pushed then tried to spit at me and bit me," Sanders— who signed with BMLG's Valory Music Co. in late 2019 — says. "I did not use any time of derogatory slur towards the other artist."
Sanders full statement maintains his innocence and notes that he "will meet this head on with the help of witnesses and the Decatur Police Department."
Taste of Country has filed a request for the incident report with the Decatur Police Department and will update this story when further information is available.
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