The Escuela Grind controversy, explained

Escuela Grind are known for making music that is a fusion of heavy metal with hardcore punk otherwise known as grindcore — and recently, the band has been having a pretty bad time, with many fans vowing to never listen to them again.

The drama followed the announcement that guitarist Tom Sifuentes was departing the group back in February due to safety concerns regarding his hearing. Many fans were angry with the group for opting to part ways with him, but this was just the beginning of a very bad few weeks for Escuela Grind. Stories began spreading with claims against the group ranging from them being rich kid posers, to more serious issues, like theft and even sexual harassment. 

The Escuela Grind controversy

Accusations first sprung up around mid-February from a former driver for the band named Destiny Hopper, who spoke out and made some pretty serious claims against Escuela Grind and their tour manager. In a post that can be found on their Instagram, the individual alleged that certain members of the band weren’t as supportive of the LGBT community as they had led fans to believe, the band also apparently never paid the driver in full. In the post, Destiny goes on to accuse the tour manager, Chris Cotter, of sexually harassing them.

You boasted about leaving people on the side of the road, informed me I was simply your employee when I brought up concerns about the van and trailer. You hired a f***ing tour manager THAT SEXUALLY HARASSED ME EVERY DAY. Pathetic. Coward.

Another member of the band who wasn’t targeted in the social media rant came forward to give their side of the story. According to an article from Metal Injection, Krissy Morash dismissed a lot of Destiny’s claims, while also claiming that they had lied about their abilities as a driver. 

The Tour Manager speaks out

Things only got worse for Escuela Grind after their tour manager, the same one mentioned in Destiny Hopper’s rant, came forward and also spoke out against the group. His testimony seemingly confirmed all of the rumors that were circulating about the band and that was pretty much the final nail in the coffin.

In a letter from Cotter obtained by Metal Sucks, the manager claims that there were “toxic dynamics within the band” which “made it difficult to realize Destiny’s distress.” Cotter goes on to explain that his perspective on his and Destiny’s interactions were very different to and it seems like up until her Instagram post he held the impression that they had been on good terms. Regardless, the main takeaway from his letter is that a lot of what Destiny claimed happened seems to have actually happened.

Following this, the band released an official statement addressing the drama. They claimed to be unaware about a lot of the drama going on between Chris Cotter and Destiny Hopper, although they denied not paying Destiny, and claimed that she parted ways with the band on her own terms. They also said this will be the final statement on the matter, however, they failed to address the firing of Tom Sifuentes, which many still want answers for.