The Lemonheads‘ Evan Dando is receiving mental health treatment in hospital after being accused of sending an unsolicited explicit video to a fan.
The fan, identified only as Dawn on journalist Tony Ortega’s Substack The Underground Bunker, said she had contacted Dando through a direct message on social media to congratulate him on The Lemonheads’ new album ‘Love Chant’, their first LP of original material since 2006.
Dando allegedly replied, “Cool I’m sorry I’m an exhibitionist,” and sent a video of himself masturbating to Dawn without her consent the following day.
“It’s him sitting in a basement or something, and he’s fully masturbating,” Dawn told Ortega. “You can see his penis, and his face. It’s definitely him. He’s filming it from a weird angle.”
“It’s so gross,” Dawn told The Underground Bunker. “I don’t want him to do this to anyone else. It’s just a gross feeling.”
“Evan Dando has long struggled with mental health issues dating back to his childhood,” his publicist confirmed to Rolling Stone. “He’s been admitted to a local hospital where he’s receiving comprehensive help from experienced doctors and mental health professionals.”
Dando discussed his history of mental illness and drug addiction in his memoir Rumours Of My Demise, which came out last year.
“Most of my real friends retreated, hoping things would change,” he wrote in one chapter. “The rest got a kick out of watching me unravel. I was in horrible shape, losing teeth, and living off cheeseburgers … and a $200 daily drug habit.”
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.