Slowthai pleads not guilty to two charges of rape

Slowthai has pleaded not guilty after being accused of two accounts of rape.

The musician appeared in court earlier today (June 15) to enter his plea, ahead of a trial scheduled for next year.

The allegations were first reported last month, when the Mercury-nominated rapper – real name Tyron Frampton – was charged with two accounts of raping a woman in September 2021.

Here, he appeared before Oxfordshire Magistrates Court – the city where the alleged crimes took place – and was charged with both oral and vaginal penetration of a woman without her consent.

Now, Slowthai has appeared in the Oxford court once again and pleaded not guilty to both charges raised against him (via Pitchfork).

He also appeared in court alongside another man, Alex Blake Walker, who pleaded not guilty to two charges of rape and one of sexual assault. Both were granted bail on the condition that they keep their solicitors informed on their place of residence.

The trial is scheduled to begin on July 1 next year.

As reported by The Guardian, the first time that the 28-year-old rapper entered court (May 16), he appeared by video link and only spoke to confirm his real name, date of birth and Northampton address.

Prosecution lawyer Adam Yar Khan also told magistrates that the charge of rape was an indictable-only offence, declaring that the case must go on to be heard at the crown court.

Prior to today’s not guilty plea, the musician took to social media to deny all charges. “Regarding the allegations being reported about me,” he wrote. “I categorically deny the charges. I am innocent and confident my name will be cleared. Until then I will apply my energy to ensure this is concluded swiftly and justly.”

Following the charges being publicised, the rapper was subtly removed from festival appearances at Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds.

Originally, the rapper appeared below Lewis Capaldi on the poster for the latter, and was scheduled to perform on the Main Stage West on Saturday (August 26) in Reading and Sunday (August 27) in Leeds. However, the line-up poster on the festival website no longer features the rapper’s name.

For Glastonbury, he featured towards the bottom-left side of the line-up poster, but is no longer listed on the website. The festival is set to take place at Worthy Farm in Somerset next week, between June 21 and 25.

It was also reported by the Evening Standard that he had pulled out of his upcoming appearance at London’s Wembley Arena this July. The slot was set to see the British rapper act as support for Blur at their upcoming opening Wembley Stadium show alongside Self Esteem.

Slowthai shot to fame with his debut album, ‘Nothing Great About Britain’, which was released in 2019 and was nominated for the Mercury Prize later that year. He also peaked at the Number One spot on the charts with his second LP, ‘Tyron’ (2021).

His most recent release was his third full-length effort, ‘UGLY’, which arrived back in March.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

The post Slowthai pleads not guilty to two charges of rape appeared first on NME.