What are the details of the harassment allegations against Scott Kelly the musician?
Executive summary
Scott Kelly, co‑founder and longtime frontman of the band Neurosis, publicly admitted in August 2022 to years of "emotional, financial, verbal and physical" abuse of his wife and younger children and announced his permanent retirement from music [1] [2]. Neurosis' remaining members say they privately parted ways with Kelly in 2019 after learning of "severe acts of abuse" and have since condemned him, while reporting has relied chiefly on Kelly's own social‑media confession and band statements [2] [3].
1. The confession: what Kelly wrote and how he framed it
In a lengthy Facebook statement Kelly said he had lied for years, used his public status to manipulate people, and admitted that when his wife tried to leave he "stalked and harassed her day and night and caused her and our youngest to live in a constant state of fear," language quoted verbatim across multiple outlets [1] [4] [2]. He described his abuse as intentional and systematic — emotional, financial, verbal and physical — and framed his retirement from music as part of a pledge to focus on "taking care of my family" and allowing them space to heal [1] [4] [5].
2. Band response and timeline: Neurosis says they cut ties in 2019
Neurosis publicly repudiated Kelly after his statement, saying the band had already parted ways with him at the end of 2019 upon learning of "severe acts of abuse" and that they had honored the family's request for privacy until Kelly's public disclosure made comment unavoidable [2] [3]. Band members characterized their feelings toward Kelly as "disgust and disappointment" and stated they had attempted contact since 2019 but received no response, adding context to why the matter only became universally public in 2022 [2].
3. Corroboration and sources: majority of reporting rests on Kelly and the band
Mainstream reporting on the allegations has relied primarily on Kelly’s own admissions and the band’s confirmation; outlets such as NPR, Pitchfork, NME, Forbes and Revolver reproduced Kelly’s language or the Neurosis statement rather than independent investigative findings [1] [2] [4] [6] [3]. Those reports consistently cite Kelly’s description of stalking and harassment and the band’s earlier private separation, but none of the supplied sources present separate legal filings, police reports, or public statements from Kelly’s family that add independent corroboration beyond what Kelly and his colleagues disclosed [1] [2] [3].
4. Severity and impact as reported: accounts, retirement and community reaction
Kelly’s characterization of the abuse as causing his wife and their youngest to “live in a constant state of fear” has been treated by outlets as a grave admission that prompted his immediate retirement — he declared himself "100% permanently retired from being a professional musician" — and provoked widespread rebuke within the metal community and media [4] [5] [7]. Commentators and scene outlets framed the revelations as a rupture with a revered legacy, with some writers calling for zero tolerance and others noting the band’s prior private handling of the matter [8] [3].
5. Limits of public reporting and open questions
Reporting in the supplied sources is explicit about its basis: Kelly's own post and the band’s statement; they do not, in these items, present independent criminal charges, court records, or direct testimony from the alleged victims, and therefore the public record as presented here is constrained to admissions and internal band action rather than legal adjudication [1] [2] [3]. This means key questions — for example, whether law enforcement investigated, whether civil remedies were pursued, or what specific chronology and incidents underpin Kelly's description — are not answered by the cited coverage [1] [2].
6. Competing narratives and implicit agendas in coverage
Coverage has balanced Kelly's confession against the band’s condemnation, but readers should note incentives shaping the story: Kelly’s post appears aimed at personal accountability and protecting family privacy; Neurosis’ statement framed their earlier secrecy as deference to that request while signaling institutional distancing [2] [3]. Media outlets amplified both narratives, which serve different agendas — Kelly’s to close the public chapter and step away, the band’s to preserve its integrity — and the absence of independent corroboration means those motives remain relevant when weighing the public record [2] [1].