The Posies break up following allegations of sexual assault against Ken Stringfellow

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Ken Stringfellow

The Posies have broken up following accusations of sexual assault against guitarist and vocalist Ken Stringfellow. Seattle’s KUOW reports that three women have come forward about their experiences. One woman, Kristine Chambers, said that Stringfellow forcibly had sex with her in a restroom in a San Francisco hotel, while another woman, Kristi Houk, woke up to Stringfellow having sex with her. A third woman, Holly Nixon, described a relationship with Stringfellow that became “more dramatic, abusive, and destructive.” All of the women described situations that involved nonconsensual biting.

Stringfellow, responding to these incidents, said to KUOW, “I experienced extreme violence firsthand as a teen. I’m sensitive to aggression, and it’s not something I can be around. I am not down with violence. I don’t want to hurt anyone, ever.”

His ex-wife, Kim Warnick—of the bands Visqueen and The Fastbacks—said of her own experience with Stringfellow, “He never put a hand on me, but at the end of the day, it was horrible – what I had to deal with because of all his infidelities.”

Stringfellow’s bandmate Jon Auer said in an email to KUOW, “I left the Posies very quickly after hearing from Kristine about what happened to her. What she described to me was super disturbing, and it made my position immediately clear. I confronted Ken about it on a phone call on Aug 4, 2021, and cancelled our upcoming shows, and flat-out told him that I wouldn’t be working with him anymore.”

If you or anyone you know has experienced sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out to RAINN via their website or at 800-656-HOPE (4673).

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