Back in November, I learned that Avid wrote music and I made the joke:
“Hmmm… TBF The last time one of Shelby’s circle wrote music, it ended very poorly.”
I was just searching for an excuse to not do a deep dive into his music after falling in love with Not Right. My first thought when I saw this news was that this fear of the MCYT music men was going to become a thing, now, likely not just for me, but for others as well.
I am horrified by Avid’s actions. My heart goes out to all of his long time friends. I’ll say what I said back then, the first time something like this happened:
It is not your fault that you were tricked by Avid. It is not your fault that you enjoyed his content and listened to his music. It is not your fault if you financially supported him in any way shape or form. It is not your fault if he still holds a special place in your brain because you got attached. It’s okay, and it isn’t your fault that he was a hyperfixation or a special interest or even just a blorbo to you.
You couldn’t have known. Most of their friends didn’t know! You didn’t even know the guy, so you couldn’t have known.
I am so sorry to those of you who were let down. I’m sorry to those of you who are going to have to pick between listening to these songs stuck in your head and not wanting to support this guy in any way. I am so so incredibly sorry to the artists and fanfiction authors and cosplayers and other creatives who have had their works tarnished by this.
You have a right to be mad, to grieve, to be sad or unsure or whatever you need to be right now. Your feelings are valid, but I’m so sorry you have to feel them. Please don’t blame yourselves. It wasn’t your fault.