- TikToker
Sienna Mae Gomez has responded to accusations that she sexually assaultedJack Wright . - She denied the allegations and accused her former friend of lying and slut-shaming her.
In a lengthy blog post titled "Sienna Mae Gomez: Reflections from an 18-Year Old Me," Gomez, who just turned 18, said the decisions she's had to make regarding Wright's accusations have made her "wish I could just go back to being a kid."
The post, which was published on January 23, follows a YouTube video posted by Wright, also 18, two days earlier in which he described four interactions during which he said Gomez touched him without his consent. It was the first time Wright had explicitly made allegations against Gomez, although his friend had previously accused Gomez of sexually assaulting Wright in Twitter and TikTok posts in May 2021, which she denied at the time.
Gomez's representatives shared a statement with Insider in which they said Gomez "vehemently denied" Wright's claims. The following day, Gomez wrote in her post that she had thus far felt "muzzled and controlled" by lawyers, agents, publicists, and parents. She wrote that she was sharing "more than I probably should," but that her intention was to "write down everything from my heart and use my newfound adult status to take accountability and share the whole truth with anyone who will listen."
In a statement to Insider, Jack Wright said, "I truly appreciate Sienna's acknowledgement that she made mistakes and that she did not fully understand consent. It is a step in a positive direction. I believe Sienna is struggling to face the truth and the harmful, painful choices she's made. Every word in my video is the truth. I hope she continues to get the help she needs so this never happens again."
Gomez, who has over 14 million TikTok followers, added that while she was "tired of fighting," she wanted to publish the post "for the sake of the people I love. I'm just going to get real and bare my soul and have faith and trust that I will land where I'm meant to be."
Here's a run-down of Gomez's response.
Gomez denied the allegations and accused Wright of 'spreading falsehoods'
In a statement to Insider, a representative for Gomez accused Wright of running a "campaign to slander" her, saying it was "a calculated action to hinder, hurt and harm not only Sienna's reputation and livelihood, but her as an individual human being as well."
It said Gomez "unequivocally denies" the accusations, saying she never broke into his home and never sexually assaulted him, which Wright alleged in the video.
Gomez implied she will be taking legal action against her accusers
In the statement provided to Insider, Gomez alleged that past videos were "removed because of untruths." It doesn't specify which videos it's referring to, but on June 3, 2021, an individual named Lachlan Hannemann posted a TikTok video appearing to show Gomez kissing and touching Wright. Hannemann said this occurred while Wright was unconscious. Shortly thereafter, the video was no longer available to view on Hannemann's account.
At the time, Gomez denied the accusation in a YouTube video that is no longer available to view.
In his YouTube video, Wright discussed this incident and said Hannemann was correct and that he was "unconscious" at the time of the interaction.
Gomez's representative told Insider Gomez's lawyers were asking for "this latest round of lies" to be deleted. "We are also asking for the videos to be removed and the truth to be told because of the sheer nature of disrespect the videos place onto victims and survivors of
In her blog post, Gomez wrote, "My legal team sent [Wright's] legal team a letter threatening a lawsuit for defaming my character because that 'is the best next step to clear your name.'"
Gomez said she was in love with Wright
While Gomez and Wright never publicly confirmed a relationship, fans of the pair, who have a combined TikTok following of 25 million, speculated they were a couple as they frequently appeared in each other's videos, often kissing and cuddling.
During his YouTube video, Wright said the pair were only ever friends, however, Gomez painted a murkier picture of their relationship in her blog post, saying that it was confusing to have grown such a huge audience based on their joint content.
"We were thrown into a crazy, exciting relationship because the public demanded it," she wrote. "Major companies were reaching out with brand deals for us and Jack even switched agents to make it easier for work opportunities. Somewhere along the way, and in a very confusing state of not knowing what was fake and what was real, I started to fall in love with him."
She added, "I told him I loved him and he said he loved me too. I would ask if he wanted to be more than friends and he would say, 'not yet.'"
Gomez said she requested to be withdrawn from Netflix's reality show about TikTokers
Gomez wrote that her relationship with Wright was supposed to be a major plotline in Netflix's "Hype House" reality show, which followed the lives of some of the biggest TikTokers. While Gomez was initially announced as part of the cast, she barely appeared in the show, which aired in January 2022.
She said the show played a part in her confusion regarding her relationship with Wright.
"I wasn't sure if we were friends or more," Gomez wrote. "We would agree to be just friends and then he would gift me expensive or even matching jewelry or plan elaborate outings. We would talk in a quiet place and say we were just friends and then the next day be making out with each other for the cameras."
Gomez wrote that she asked the producers of the show to remove her following the accusations against her "so that I did not have to re-live the online bullying." She wrote that she was sorry to the cast and crew of the show.
Gomez accused Wright of slut-shaming
The statement also accuses Wright and "his collaborators" of engaging in "blatant slut-shaming
In her blog post, Gomez accused Wright of making her "sound crazy," saying he "twisted so many things out of context in his most recent video, to the point of literally painting me into the 'loud,' 'crazy,' 'overly sexualized' stereotype that people try to use on young, especially Latina, women."
She said the allegations were made to capitalize on her success
In Gomez's statement to Insider, she said the accusations were made "in an effort to use her suffering as a catalyst for their own personal gain." It stated that the people making the accusations "did so with the motivation to further associate themselves with Sienna."
In her blog post, Gomez said she had seen people she didn't know "jump on the hate train and make up lies."
Gomez apologized for her previous videos
In his YouTube video, Wright said he felt Gomez's previous video denying the accusations had "invalidated my feelings" and "gaslighted" him by suggesting that he wasn't sexually assaulted because he continued to spend time and film TikToks with her and didn't report it.
In her blog post, Gomez apologized to "sexual assault survivors who I offended with my ignorance."
She wrote that she has since "learned a lot about sexual assault and the psychological trauma responses victims of sexual assault may develop as a result of abuse."
"I learned what Stockholm syndrome and trauma bonds are and am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn so that I can be a better ally to victims of sexual assault," she said.
She also apologized directly to Wright for "times that I made you feel uncomfortable" by being physically affectionate, but added, "there is a distinct line between that and sexual assault. I'm so sad that this is where we ended up, and even more so that I'm now being used in a new and even more hurtful way."
In a statement to Insider, Wright said, "I'm deeply moved by the support and those who have shared their own difficult stories. No one deserves to suffer in silence because you think you won't be believed. Please know that I hear you and believe you." He also directed viewers to the anti-sexual violence organization RAINN.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.