On Jan. 20, 2022, 18-year-old Sienna Mae Gomez was officially accused of sexual assault by her longtime friend and business partner, fellow 18-year-old Jack Wright. Wright posted to his YouTube channel a video titled “what sienna mae did to me.” Viewers quickly flooded in as the video hit over 20 million views in two weeks. But this wasn’t the first time the accusations had been brought to light. On May 30, 2021, Mason Rizzo, a fellow influencer and friend of Wright’s, posted a message to Twitter addressing what he had witnessed from Gomez. He wrote how tired he was of someone like her having a large following while his friend was suffering behind the scenes. He quickly deleted the tweet soon after, however.
On June 3, 2021, another friend and fellow influencer, Lachlan Hannemann, posted a now-deleted video to TikTok from Nov. 30, 2020, of what appeared to be Gomez on top of Wright groping him as he was passed out. Shortly afterward, both Wright and Gomez made their own statements to Twitter, expressing that they would be handling the situation outside the platform with their own lawyers. This was just the beginning of their stories.
After the Twitter statement, Gomez recorded two now-deleted YouTube videos addressing her side of the story. In the first video, which is around eight minutes, Gomez states that her video is not an apology but a statement. She claimed they were dragging her name through the mud. Gomez proceeds to say that she and Wright never had sexual intercourse and that she had deep feelings for him, but he didn’t feel the same way. She remarked that she and Wright were essentially performing a fake relationship on camera, which made her feel used for views. Gomez stated that all she had was love for Wright and that he had strung her along.
In Gomez’s second video, her tone changed. The video starts with her stating that Wright is a victim of sexual assault, but not from her. She also stated that she was a victim of continual attempts to cancel her and slander her name with false claims. Gomez explains that Wright himself had yet to address the allegations and that the only ones who issued statements were his friends and acquaintances. Gomez also broke down the video posted by Hannemann, stating that it was actually two videos spliced together. Gomez ends her video by claiming to be a victim of “cancel culture” and that her legal team would get involved in the defamation of her character. Many fans believed these responses to be unprofessional and tone-deaf to more serious issues. After posting, Gomez took a brief pause from social media.
On July 6, 2021, Gomez posted another, now-deleted, two-minute video to YouTube briefing discussing her hiatus and her future. Gomez shared what she learned on her break and how she would not let the allegations keep her from what she loved the most. The rest of the video is a choreographed dance routine to the song “Young” by Sam Smith. This video received considerable backlash from the internet, being nicknamed one of the most insane and terrible “apologies” on the internet by other YouTubers and viewers.
Shortly after, Gomez went back to posting on TikTok as usual, despite the negative reaction. Months went by, and Gomez continued to make videos for her 15 million followers on TikTok as if nothing had happened. Shortly after Gomez’s 18th birthday on Jan. 11, 2022, Wright broke his silence. Wright posted to TikTok that a video addressing Gomez would be out that week. The people would finally hear Jack Wright’s side of the story.
On Jan. 20, 2022, Wright posted his statement in an almost 18-minute-long video. It began with a thank you from Wright for the support and followed with the backstory of the tweets previously mentioned back in June. Wright followed this by addressing Gomez’s eight-minute video invalidating his feelings. He then follows up with the video posted by Hannemann stating that he had no memory of the incident and that he was indeed passed out. Hannemann had, according to his friends and brother, pulled Gomez off him and proceeded to argue with her.
Wright then addresses Gomez’s “15-part aggressive video,” which he describes as lies and typical gaslighting. He then chokes up while showing a video from TikTok of a man perfectly explaining what happened in Hannemann’s video, saying afterward that it was one of the reasons why he could process and address the allegations to the public.
The second part of Wright’s video discusses the relationship he had with Gomez. He starts with their backstory: They met in high school and after she went viral on TikTok, she reached out to Wright asking for an interview at the Hype House, and so he brought her out to Los Angeles. Wright then quickly clarifies that both he and Gomez were aware that they were just friends, and she was seeing other guys.
He then discussed the first time Gomez crossed his boundaries; he said that after making a video together, she stripped naked and proceeded to straddle Wright while he was relaxing on his bed. He said he didn’t know how to react to the situation as she attempted to make out with him while he repeatedly told her to get off. Gomez then, according to Wright, repeatedly apologized the morning after. He then goes on to say that it continued to happen, and that he would forgive her each time. Wright then brought up the controversial video, stating that it took place afterward in Hawaii and that he’s grateful his friends had pulled her off and that they also had evidence of the incident. Wright affirms that Gomez knew about the video and begged him not to release it as it would ruin her and that she was working on respecting boundaries.
Wright then tells the viewers about another incident in which Gomez tried to make out with him; as a result, he made her leave the party. He describes how Gomez rolled out of the car that was bringing her home to run back inside the party, which resulted in him hiding and waiting for Gomez’s parents to come pick her up. He then goes on to say that Gomez would take advantage of him when he was at his most vulnerable — being angry or asleep. He reveals that Gomez would constantly go to his house since she remembered the door codes.
He also goes into detail about waking up with Gomez’s hand in his pants multiple times and seeing her car outside his window at 2 a.m. He goes on to say that he became used to it and that he felt like it was something he owed her; he felt trapped in a manipulative cycle — she would say that she loved and cared about him, and then afterward, try to take advantage of him. He also discusses the last incident in Hawaii when she picked the lock to the bathroom door while he was showering. As a result, Gomez cried and slept in Wright’s bed while he slept on his friend’s trundle instead.
Wright then showed anonymous messages from other guys who shared similar experiences with Gomez. He concluded his video in tears stating that he never stayed silent and repeatedly told Gomez “No” and that he has sought therapy over the past couple of months to process what he has been through. He goes on to say that he will never be the same person again and that what Gomez did to him was unfair. He then addresses the audience and says that they are not alone and to reach out for help if they’re in similar situations. He describes his situation as “humiliating, weird and awkward.” Wright ends his video hoping Gomez will take accountability and learn from what she did and says he’s glad to tell the world his story.
Many other influencers and fans rushed to support Wright and applauded him for speaking out on such a difficult and personal experience. Some fans, however, stayed by Gomez’s side along with other influencers. Gomez then made a fourth, and final, statement to her website. On Jan. 25, 2022, Gomez posted a blog titled, “Reflections From an 18 Year Old Me.” In the blog, she restates everything from her previous videos and addresses how she’s 18 now and learning consent and boundaries, stating it’s something she was never taught at a young age.
In the end, she leaves a message addressed to Wright saying, “I apologize if there were times that I made you feel uncomfortable. I am sorry if anything I ever did triggered other things you have experienced or any feelings of discomfort.” She continued to deny the allegations and accused Wright of making her out to be a “’loud,’ ‘crazy,’ ‘overly sexualized’ stereotype that people try to use on young, especially Latina, women.”
Sienna Mae Gomez has since deleted all her social media except TikTok, and took a hiatus from the internet. Jack Wright went back to making videos with his friends and hasn’t addressed Gomez’s final statement. Although nothing has been legally proven, Jack Wright’s video brought attention to a very taboo topic in today’s society: male sexual assault victims. Hopefully, the situation can bring more understanding to the issue and let other male victims know that it’s okay for them to speak up, that they won’t be labeled as unmanly and that they will have a support system to help them. Sexual assault is a serious topic that should be addressed professionally out of respect for other victims. It is important to bring awareness to all sexual assault victims and let them be heard.
