Jahan Yousaf Opens Up In An Emotional OP-ED. Read Below!

“Hello. My name is Jahan Yousaf. I am a singer, songwriter and DJ of currently the most hated group in the electronic dance music scene: Krewella.

Krewella Responds to Kris Trindle Lawsuit

When my sister Yasmine and I got sued by our former bandmate, Kris Trindl, for allegedly “forcing” him out of the group for being “sober,” some of you told us to pursue a career in porn as we had failed at Krewella. Despite my penis being a little camera-shy, I was about to consider it. But then superstar DJ deadmau5 seemed to take an interest in us, and now I think a career in music will work out. Thank you, deadmau5, for saving me from doing porn.

And here are a couple of posts following deadmau5’s tweets:

This isn’t just about deadmau5 or porn. It’s about sex, media and humanity. After 10 months of being removed from social media, this highly publicized lawsuit has lured me out of my cave. “Highly publicized,” meaning it was embarrassingly the No. 1 trending topic on Facebook, disseminated by TMZ, and received coverage by almost every single dance music blog. I did not participate or respond to the Krewella breakup chatter. I just stalked the fuck out of myself, read comments, and played the voyeur like Peeping Tom. Can someone please create an algorithm for how many times the words “whore” and “krewella” are used in the same sentence online?? These are just a few of the hundreds I collected:

Some of you are probably laughing at these comments, as I did at first. But hell, I can’t even fake a smile right now. This sickens me, because the way we participate in Internet dialogue mirrors our attitude as a society. And what I see in that reflection is an immense amount of hatred and intolerance for one another. It’s time to smash the fuckin’ mirror. I have been silent for too long. I am relapsing after avoiding social media to share what I have learned and to encourage people to challenge and question what they read/hear/see from now on, and that goes for situations beyond our case, whether it’s politics or celebrity gossip. The sad part is that it is 2014, and people are still passively reading headlines for face value, parroting the words of celebrities, and jumping on the bandwagon of popular opinion. I don’t see enough people challenging the intolerance that deadmau5 preaches to his 3 million followers, researching beyond the headlines they read, or protesting against the derogatory dialogue that circulates on social networks.

I am grateful for the handful who showed their concerns for us regarding the repulsive comments, but I am not asking for sympathy. I am asking for everyone to think about the impact this unwelcoming online environment has on our youth wanting success, respect and acceptance. Isn’t that what we all want? I am asking for everyone to think about girls who are looking at this public reaction who might now be discouraged to pursue an authentic place in a male-dominated industry. I am asking you to think about boys who internalize messages that vulnerability, sensitivity and standing up for gender equality means they are a pussy. This is for boys and girls, parents and children, straights and gays, because social rejection affects ALL of us. And if you think I am bringing up societal problems of the past or blowing this out of proportion, then you are living in a fantasy world where sexism, discrimination and homophobia don’t exist. I ask that you step outside your little bubble — or do your research — and understand that a huge portion of our youth’s depression, self-destructiveness and cognitive behavioral disorders are a result of societal rejection and shaming that occurs on the internet.

Both genders suffer inequalities and neither is more important to me than the other, but what I am most knowledgeable about is my first-hand experience of how I am talked about as a woman in the media. I do think it’s worth mentioning that Kris was often overshadowed due to the presence of two females. Despite our efforts to give him more spotlight, Kris checked out. We couldn’t continue forcing his presence in Krewella, as his decision to disassociate himself from the group and self-admitted addiction became out of our control, and I believe this happened because he subconsciously internalized this lack of attention from fans. However, there seemed to be heightened support for Kris after the lawsuit was filed. The disturbing part is that the growth in praise and attention we always wanted for Kris came with the demonization of Yasmine and me. Kris’ lawsuit rallied up thousands of fans to show an immense amount of support for him by sharing their mistrust of women and blatant derogatory assumptions about women (i.e.: “the girls didn’t do anything except use their sex to sell the group”…”this is why you should never go into business with a woman”…”they are just puppets for the genius who did all the work”). We were told to burn in hell and suck Kris’ dick. It is quite a shame that Kris was guided by his female legal counsel — Dina LaPolt was quoted saying we “didn’t know what was a middle C on the keyboard … the only notes they know are bank notes” — to choose to falsify claims that completely stripped Yasmine and me of our hard work and musical contributions to the group. In response to LaPolt’s quip, here’s an EXCLUSIVE PHOTO of Yasmine finally finding that Middle C:

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