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Matt Mondanile Issued Another Response to Claims of Sexual Misconduct

In it, the ex-Real Estate guitarist apologized to Julia Holter, and said he was "incalculably sorry" to the other women he had "caused direct pain."
Lauren O'Neill
London, GB

Matt Mondanile, formerly of Real Estate and currently of Ducktails, has put out a second public statement about the recent allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of women made against him. He shared his thoughts in a Facebook post, uploaded on Thursday with a screenshot that Mondanile used to make public a private donation he had made to a charity that works with survivors of abuse.

In the statement, Mondanile addressed the allegations and apologised specifically to his ex-girlfriend, the musician Julia Holter, who previously accused him of being "emotionally abusive to the point where I had to have a lawyer intervene and was afraid for my life." Mondanile wrote:

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I was previously in a relationship with Julia Holter. At points during the relationship and after it ended I acted immaturely and irresponsibly harassing her for her own well-deserved success and life decisions. After we broke up I immediately sought out therapy for my obsessive behaviour towards her. While I was in therapy and coping with my obsession for many months I wrote her rude and angry emails offending her and commented negatively about her success on her Instagram. Eventually I sent her an email apologising for my rash and disturbing behaviour. I then received a letter from her lawyers demanding that I stop contacting her. I feel incredible regret for the way I acted and I am embarrassed by my behaviour. I am so sorry to Julia for the pain and frustration I’ve caused her.

Elsewhere he gave further details of his termination from Real Estate, and apologised to other women he had "caused pain" to. In October, at least seven women came forward. alleging to Spin that Mondanile had crossed the line of consent with each of them. At the time, his lawyers responded via Spin. Mondaline's response now was to write: "I never considered myself a misognyist [sic] or sexual predator. Some of my best friends are former girlfriends of mine. I’ve released many albums by female artists on my label and worked hard to get their music distributed well and reviewed by music publications over the past six years."

As has been the case with so many of the apologies given by men in the wake of last year's Harvey Weinstein revelations, fans have responded with both support and outrage, with one writing: "I can’t believe how many people seem to be buying this… maybe there is a path to redemption down the line, but this statement is clearly self-serving and more about him than anyone he hurt." Another responded with: "Very sincere and an amazing overall post. Keep coming with more of your amazing music and visual art Matt, stay strong!"

Following the release of the statement, in a now-deleted tweet, Mondanile noted that Pitchfork's article about it had not mentioned his donation to US charity RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network).

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