Asheville dubstep/dance music promoter Tyler Ray Palmer has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault and rape. His company Unified Events has thrown regional underground parties in Asheville, Charlotte, Marshall and Greenville, SC.

Written by Be Scofield

3/18/18

In October of last year Sarah Davis (not her real name) went to Tyler Ray Palmer’s house to hang out and maybe get a massage. She hadn’t met him before but she knew of him through his underground dance music event promotion company Unified Events. They chatted on Facebook messenger for bit. She figured it’d be chill. After hanging for a few she describes what happened:

“I was laying on his bed. I had my shirt pulled up some but I still had my clothes on. He was massaging me and then started massaging my ass a bit. I thought it was a bit weird but didn’t say anything. He then got up and turned the lights off and started massaging my ass a little more. He then pulled down my pants and put himself inside of me. I just completely froze. I didn’t say anything. It only lasted like a minute.”

Sarah’s account that she told me is similar to another woman who also claims to have been raped by Tyler.

Kelly Wilson (not her real name) was hanging out with a small group of friends at a house next door to New Mountain Asheville when the molly she took kicked in way harder than she expected. She went upstairs to lay down because she didn’t feel well. She describes what happened next:

“He then followed me upstairs and asked me if I was ok. I was like ‘yeah, I’m just rolling really hard. I can barely keep my eyes open.’ I told him I just wanted to be alone. I came upstairs to be alone. He proceeded to dismiss that and get into the bed under the covers with me. I was in a state of mind where I was kind of malleable but I was still there. He started touching me and I told him I didn’t want to do anything with him. Then he proceeded to keep touching me and I nudged him away. I pushed him away. He proceeded to pull down my pants and let himself in. He had sex with me. I did not want him too. I said to him at one point while he was doing it, ‘why are you doing this?’ He finished up within a minute and a half and stood up and left my pants the way they were.”

Another woman in Asheville claims Tyler laced her drink and raped her:

“I had chatted with him on Facebook and became an aquaintance with him. He invited me over to hang out and I thought, “Why not? Harmless”. We were just drinking a bit and listening to music. I don’t know what happened to make the tables turn because everything is very hazey after that. But, next thing I know, I was passed out in his bed and he was taking off my clothes. I felt very incoherent, almost drugged…but I don’t know due to no blood tests to confirm. He climbed on top of me and began having sex with me without my consent. Next thing I knew, I was throwing up in the floor. By the time the morning rolled around, I couldn’t figure out what had happened. I got out of there pretty quickly and felt so groggy and weird.”

Multiple Women Come Forward

After Tyler posted on Facebook on March 15th calling out famous dubstep producer Datsik for recent allegations of sexual assault, women decided to come forward and share their stories about him. Tyler wrote that Datsik should be “blacklisted” and that the allegations “make him sick.”

Someone who had only recently become friends with Tyler on Facebook describes what happened after they had initially messaged each other:

“A few days had passed and he asked me to video chat and I did. It started like any normal human conversation until he started asking me if I was wearing panties and asked to show him. I repeatedly said no, I’m not going to take my clothes off for you on cam. He proceeded to keep trying to convince me and eventually started jacking off to me on cam.”

Another person who came forward accused Tyler of groping her without her permission. She said he grabbed her breasts and then tried to take her friends pants off.

One woman who spoke out describes her experience of being at a club with him:

“As the night went on he got really touchy feely with me and I told him he needed to back off. He would not stop following me around, like I went to the restroom and he stood outside the door waiting on me. I couldn’t hoop, venture off by myself or anything because he kept me close by. I eventually had to make an escape…He touched on places he shouldn’t have and wouldn’t let me alone. This dude is not a safe person and everyone needs to be aware around him.”

Another woman said he constantly sent her dick pics:

“For the next two weeks or so until the rave I was supposed to go and hang out with him he sent me dic pics constantly, was always talking about how horny he was and in general I don’t think I ever had a conversation where he didn’t bring up something sexual.” And when they did finally meet up she describes him as pushy, “He was pretty pushy about me going on a walk with him so we could make out. He started groping me and I told him to stop. He put my hand on his dick twice and I took it off immediately both times.”

Another person who came forward:

“He’s a predator. And so many people have known but nothing has been said publicly. He’s been a creep on mine and friends Snapchats. He would send unsolicited dic pics. And then got offended when we got upset. I’ve warned so many girls about him.”

This woman claims Tyler sent her and her friends unsolicited dick pics when they were underage and he was 19:

“I knew Tyler back in high school, and he frequently sent my friends and I unsolicited dick pics. We were all 14/15/16 when he was 18 and 19. He would also constantly ask for nudes and it got to the point where we all just blocked him.”

Several years ago at a party in Annapolis Maryland he groped a young woman:

“He came back and like grabbed on my ass and thighs. He tried like 4 maybe more times before my friends date punched him in the chest. And told him to knock it off. We grabbed my boyfriend and left instantly after that.

He sat next to me in homeroom too. He would touch my legs. He would try to slide his hand over on to my knee. After awhile I just stopped going to homeroom which was also a 1st period so I failed. He harassed me through Facebook once I left the school to go back to my homeschool.”

This woman claims that he tried to blackmail her into having sex with him:

“He belonged to a Facebook group I was in and ended up trying to talk to me, he kept telling me we should meet up and I didn’t want to, a few weeks went by with him still bugging me about meeting up and he starting sending me inappropriate pictures of himself when I was 17. He made a fake profile of me and got pictures from my ex and tried to use them to blackmail me into having sex with him. When I told him I would tell police he showed me conversations he was having with himself as me saying that it was my idea to have sex and it was consensual. Thankfully nothing ever came from that other than the fact he had underaged pictures of me but he does blackmail people into having sex with him.”

As this story was unfolding, people that knew him in Maryland reached out to those in Asheville, sharing that there were multiple allegations of sexual assault and rape against Tyler there as well. They also sent documentation of a criminal record. The document states that he was charged with “Display of Obscene Material to a Minor” and that he plead guilty in April of 2016.

Controversial Parties

One Asheville producer said that Tyler’s parties were using the themes of “Harry Potter and Rick and Morty to get more young people out at his events.” Similarly, another local producer said, “He’s notorious for throwing all ages shows too. His reasoning was that the event was meant to be ‘family friendly.’ Especially at gimmicky ‘kiddie’ places like trampoline parks. Alcohol Law Enforcement shut down one of his shows due to underage girls being provided alcohol in the green room.”

He also tried to throw a “Free the Nipple” themed party where women who were topless get in free and guys pay $20. One woman posted their objections:

After public outcry the event was canceled.

Multiple Facebook Accounts

Tyler also appears to have multiple different Facebook accounts under the same name and at least one fake one which is alarming.

Next Steps

Local dubstep and bass music producers and DJs have organized a thorough and swift campaign on Facebook and elsewhere to inform nightclubs, other musicians and women about Tyler. New Mountain Asheville canceled a recent event as a result of the allegations. DJs are also refusing to play at his events.

None of the women I spoke with for this story wanted to be named publicly. Nor did they want to go to the police. Very few cases like these are successfully prosecuted. They involve long drawn out and often public processes where the accusers past is dug up. They wanted to avoid the potential drama and stress of that process but welcomed an article and more public awareness about Tyler.

There have been comments and posts from women in the local community expressing appreciation for the action being taken, “Thanks for believing the NUMEROUS ladies and putting this creep on blast. That’s how a real man behaves.” Another, “Praise indeed! …very few speak up, and it means so much and is so powerful coming from a brother. Thank you … we need more like you.”

Just days after sexual assault allegations surfaced against dupstep producer Datsik he canceled his entire tour and was dropped from his label and agency. Undoubtedly, we are in a long overdue new era of accountability and awareness surrounding sexual assault. The swift reaction of the Asheville underground dance community to Tyler’s behavior is a part of that movement. Hopefully, the increased attention about these incidents in our society will create a permanent shift in the climate so predators and perpetrators will know they cannot get away with it any longer.