Krewella's Jahan Yousaf Op-Ed: Deadmau5 Saved Me From Going Into Porn

Ever since their former bandmate Kris Trindl very-publicly announced he was suing to the tune of $5 million, Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf – the remaining members of Krewella – have stayed more or less out of the spotlight. But after releasing their first track as a duo last month, this morning Jahan Yousaf has penned a striking op-ed for Billboard about her experience since Trindl departed the band.

Over 1,500 words, Yousaf recounts the sexism she’s encountered online since the split, from deadmau5’s Twitter account to the Facebook commenters who advised her to trade in music for a career in porn. “This isn’t just about deadmau5 or porn. It’s about sex, media and humanity,” Jahan writes. “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.”

And with some screenshots to illustrate, she asks: “Can someone please create an algorithm for how many times the words “whore” and “krewella” are used in the same sentence online?”

“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,” Yousaf rallies. “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.”

As Jahan writes, both her and Yasmine were disappointed that Trindl and his lawyer choose to “falsify claims that completely stripped Yasmine and me of our hard work and musical contributions to the group.” The lawsuit, she says, “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.”

Instead of spreading hate, Yousaf wants us to think about the way we interact online. “Please question your motives and the effects of anything you post. Impulses are unforgiving, and your words are powerful,” she concludes. “This is a collective effort, and it starts with you.”