The Black Flag debacle is worst and worst every month! If you have followed any of it, Ron Reyes, who was hired a few years ago as the singer for the Greg Ginn’s version of Black Flag revival, has just spoken to BrooklynVegan, and it’s not pretty. He is totally backing up the accusations of child abuse made by Ginn’s wife back in October in an affidavit. Reyes appeared in court a few days ago and described what he witnessed at Ginn’s home or during rehearsals, and his whole statement can be read as a PDF, on the BrooklynVegan site.
There are a few of really disturbing parts in this PDF, first a troubling story about rescued cats: ‘The upstairs area also contained a large number of cats in a cage. Greg rescued cats, but was allergic to them. According to him, the cats were not adoptable, so they were basically just living out what was the rest of their lives in the cage.’
Then he describes some filthy conditions, with ‘dirty pots, pans and dishes in the sink’, a filthy bathroom, ‘dirty towels all over the floor that had been there some time’, despite the fact that the bathroom was used by his children. Then it’s all about Ginn’s behavior, who was allegedly smoking marijuana constantly throughout the day, drinking a bottle of wine or two each day. The kids were left unsupervised during the recording sessions, while Greg would get high. ‘He would make them wait, hours usually, before he would break for food and, I assume, feed them’. Greg called his children ‘free range’ (like chickens??) they were not sent to school, and ‘the way he completely neglected his daughters was very disturbing’, adds Reyes.
And he goes on and on about Greg’s addiction to weed (I thought it was not possible to get addicted, or at least not physically possible), describing him pale and vomiting till ‘he was able to find a supply of marijuana’. Reyes also said that Ginn threatened him after a non flattering comment posted on Facebook, saying he ‘would fuck me up and fuck my family up’ and the situation worsened to the point that Reyes had to leave the tour and the band. Brooklyn Vegan reached out to Ron, and he had this to add:
‘When you hear things that trouble your heart, especially the heart of a parent… well lets just say that it is hard to stay silent and wash your hands and somehow walk away hoping to remain safe and unaffected. I am very troubled by what I have heard over the last couple months. And all I can hope for is that somehow things will work out in favour of two very precious children so they can live a life that is safe and full of love, support and guidance they deserve. Whenever a woman speaks out about abuse people want to second guess her and cast shame and doubt over her claims. This infuriates me to no end as I have two daughters and a wife of 27 years that I love to death. It is just not right to immediately doubt and somehow pour shame onto a woman for speaking out based on gender. I have no love of lawyers and do not look forward to the backlash I will receive for lending a voice of support to those who have reached out to me. But called I have been and I just can’t ignore that. People please consider the source of all accusations carefully and pray for an outcome of peace and love and safety for children who cannot speak for themselves in court.’
I can’t defend Greg Ginn, because by all accounts, he doesn’t seem to be a nice person, but marijuana withdrawal? It is not even proven it is addictive, and I doubt it can reach the point to make you vomit? Honestly I have also dirty dishes in my sink today,… so everything is relative. Greg Ginn is probably the egomaniac/sociopath that he describes but all these other details about dirty towels and weed do not make his case. The neglect of the cats and the children, who were not at school and not taken care of, is very disturbing though.
Two months ago, his wife Marina Ginn had already described the same restless behavior in her affidavit, saying that her husband was putting ‘the safety of their 7- and 10-year-old daughters in jeopardy’, ‘routinely denying them food and threatening them, forcing them to perform chores until the early morning hours, and punishing them by locking them in rooms and throwing cups of water in their face.’ She also said he had been very critical of their ‘weights and unnervingly interested in their bodies—including allegedly having whistled at them and said, ‘You’re hot.” One of her friends even started a GoFundMe page to pay for her lawyer’s expenses, but the campaign hasn’t been very successful so far… it’s not so easy to be under Ginn’s hold.
