Singer Melanie Martinez, who rose to fame competing on season three of NBC\u2019s \u201cThe Voice,\u201d has been accused by a former friend of sexual assault. The alleged incident was detailed by Timothy Heller, herself an aspiring musician, who, in a four-part tweet, recounted a night during which she \u201crepeatedly said no\u201d to Martinez\u2019s sexual advances. Heller accuses Martinez of forceful penetration with a sex toy, among other acts.<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles-based Heller posted the tweet just before 3 p.m. local time. Within eight hours, it was retweeted more than 50,000 times.<\/p>\n
Martinez and Heller appear to have a friendship that dates back to 2015, judging by images on social media platforms.<\/p>\n
At 11:30 p.m. Martinez posted a response on her own Twitter<\/a>, writing, \u201cI am horrified and saddened by the statements and story told by Timothy Heller. What she and I shared was a close friendship \u2026 We tried to help each other. We both had pain in dealing with our individual demons\u2026 She never said no to what we chose to do together. And although we parted ways, I am sending her love and light always.\u201d<\/p>\n Read Heller\u2019s original post and Martinez\u2019s response below:<\/p>\n When I wrote this story about my assault, I initially wasn\u2019t going to make the abuser. But I think it\u2019s important for you all to know this is about Melanie Martinez pic.twitter.com\/4PQ5oNI2s9<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Timothy Heller (@timethyheller) December 4, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n