Travis Barker of Blink-182 called out 20-year-old Echosmith drummer Graham Sierota for DMing his 13-year-old daughter Alabama.
This week, Alabama shared screenshots on Instagram of her DMs with Sierota, per The Blast. The musician allegedly attempted to contact Alabama multiple times — writing "Hi" and then "By the way I’m Graham from echosmith and I think ur beautiful" — in September of 2016. Alabama was 10 at the time.
Alabama did not respond to the initial messages from 2016. However, when Sierota DMed her again this year to invite her to a barbecue, Alabama shared the message on her Instagram story and tagged Echosmith.
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"Hey guys! So once again I am bringing this to your attention because I’m a 13 year old girl and he is 21/20 super creepy."
Alabama also responded directly to Sierota via the DMs, writing, "Ur like 40," to which he replied, "I just wanted to say i really like ur music and sorry for messaging and I'm 20." Alabama drove the point home with her last message: "Ok but u understand I'm a child?"
In a statement to The Blast, Barker called out Sierota for the inappropriate messages, saying that he was "disgusted" and that Sierota exhibited "predatory behavior" that was not "cool, normal or [okay]."
Alabama is Barker's daughter with ex-wife Shanna Moakler. Barker and Alabama have a seemingly close relationship: Alabama recently posted a tribute slideshow to her dad on Instagram for Father's Day with a sweet message.
"You deserve so much , I wouldn’t be here without u , I love u to the moon and back nothing will get between our unconditional love," Alabama wrote on Instagram. "Thank you for being a amazing dad."
In a statement to People, Sierota apologised for his actions, which he claimed was a misunderstanding.
"I had invited Alabama to my parents’ big family BBQ along with many other people, and it wasn’t until she responded that I realized her age at which point I apologized to her. I’m really sorry and feel very badly about this. I didn’t realise she was a minor and assumed she was my age. I made a careless mistake and this is a big lesson for me. I would like to apologise again to Alabama, her dad Travis, and her family."
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Alabama accepted his apology on Instagram, writing of Sierota, "He is very sorry about the situation and regretful. I forgive him and would like for this all to be over."
Later, Echosmith issued a statement to Refinery29 following the controversy.
"We have never publicly addressed this in the past, but given the events of the last few days, we feel compelled to speak out now to offer some additional context and insight into the unfortunate misunderstandings that occurred and clear up the deeply hurtful mischaracterisations of Graham. As a child, Graham was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He has difficulty understanding social cues.
"Graham’s challenges have always been a non-issue in our family. In fact, it is a truly beautiful and wonderful thing that makes Graham the amazing brother, son and friend that he is. His outlook on life inspires us every day. He’ll be the first one to say 'today is gonna be the best day ever,' or, 'you’re my best friend and you look amazing today.' He sees the world as the happiest place, where everyone is a potential friend, and he wants everyone to feel included. One very recent Christmas, we hosted a holiday party at our home, and had athletes, musicians, artists, and models show up, and we were very confused until they happily told us 'Graham reached out on social media and invited us!' Anyone who has ever met Graham will agree, he is the friendliest and most kind-hearted, welcoming person in the world.
"We understand that his interactions were misinterpreted and misunderstood in the confusing world of social media, and we are deeply sorry. Graham certainly never meant to make anyone feel uncomfortable.
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"As a family, we will continue to work with him to have the right tools and knowledge about social boundaries, and to better navigate and utilise social media while he takes a break from it.
"We hope anyone who’s been affected, and in turn felt uncomfortable, can accept our deepest apologies."
Refinery29 has reached out to representatives for Barker and Moakler for comment.
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