ARTIST PROTECTION AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION

The decision to come forward with my story has been the single hardest decision I’ve had to make in my career as an artist thus far. I have always prided myself on my ability to stand up and provide for myself, but at this point, for the first time, my family and I are at a complete loss, in every sense of the word because of the actions of my violently abusive ex.

It is one thing to write vulnerable, lyrical pop ballads about your experiences and trauma, as I have throughout my career, and entirely another to tell the full truth and dark, ugly reality of the inspiration behind those songs.

I recognize the danger I am putting myself in by creating this page and coming forward with my story while my abuser remains a free man, residing less than 10 blocks from my new apartment and having obtained my address by filing a falsified police report. However, I have exhausted every other avenue to protect myself. I’ve tried everything in my power to get this man to leave me and my music alone, but it is terrifyingly apparent that he will stop at nothing to destroy my mental wellbeing, physical health, and career in the music industry.

Over the course of the last 3 years, I was relentlessly and violently abused by my ex boyfriend, physically, emotionally, and financially. I provided for him and allowed him to live with me after his parents threw him out of their residence for drunk driving and totaling their vehicle. At the time, he had manipulated me into believing his family was unsupportive of his career choices and that he needed a safe space to work, away from his abusive mother. Devastatingly, in providing that safe space, I became a target and outlet for his rage and substance abuse.

Throughout the 4 months he resided with me, he entered a state of extremely volatile active addiction. He struck me so hard he dislocated my jaw in November of 2023, choked me unconscious numerous times; once to the extent I lost my voice entirely and was forced to cancel countless shows and sessions in the following months, costing me hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue and medical bills. He’s given me countless black eyes, once purposefully a few days prior to a photo shoot he knew I had been preparing for, forcing me to reschedule and miss deadlines for the distribution of my music.

He told me following the incident. “If I wanted my social media accounts to remain active and my music to remain on Spotify - I would tell my producers I had laryngitis, because involving law enforcement or anyone else who may, would only result in ‘me getting buried, and my songs and social media being permanently wiped from existence.’”

He managed to terrify me into complete silence. I spent months recovering from my injuries alone in my bedroom while he lived in my home rent free; ensuring his complete control over me. His motive to silence me for fear of his reputation being tarnished, accompanied by his extensive history of criminal behavior and dark web connections, for the first time in my life, rendered me entirely powerless.

For an artist whose only stream of revenue is comprised of social media promotion, record sales, and Spotify streams, this situation has absolutely ruined me, both financially and mentally.

I am genuinely struggling to survive, drowning in medical bills for long term injuries he inflicted, and unable to afford medical care or return to work because of the impact of his violence, lies and abuse of the legal system. He knows the details of my situation as a developing artist, and he has held it over my head for the entirety of our 3 year long relationship to ensure my silence.

He’s an extremely experienced cyber criminal with a previous felony for hacking into the Beverly Hills Police Department security servers with the intention of editing and deleting footage. This felony was “expunged” because he was a minor, and was raised here in Beverly Hills by wealthy, well connected people. He was merely 15 when he committed this advanced level of crime, and he has only gotten more malicious and more efficient in his hacking efforts in the decade that followed.

My entire account was hacked and taken down entirely twice during the trial and multiple times following, the IP of the most recent hack having been traced to the exact location of his parent’s pool house where he currently resides. I’ve been forced to open several investigations with BHPD regarding the harassment, once again, to no avail.

He would regularly hide and discard my birth control pills in an attempt to impregnate and trap me. It was my absolute biggest fear.

I scheduled all of my doctor’s appointments in secrecy, and he’d frequently hack into my iCloud account to keep tabs on my coming ands goings from my own home…as well as to search incessantly for texts and lyrics about himself…the very same lyrics he is now attempting to use to drive me out of my home here.

To add unbelievable insult to injury, this man waged a lawsuit against me for alleged “slander” over my most recent EP InternetStar, a project I wrote to cope with the abuse and trauma I survived at his hands. Despite my ample evidence of him breaking and entering my residence, videos of him scaling my three story secured apartment complex to pick my locks and get into my bed with me whilst I was asleep, disturbing medical records, photos and videos intensely more graphic than the one I have shared above, as well as texts he sent threatening gun violence and the lives of my producers and “any man” with whom I chose to come in contact - The Superior Court of Santa Monica sided with him, due to the social media aspects of my career and my outward appearance as an artist, not to mention the pages upon pages of his petition littered with unprecedented perjury that unfortunately went entirely unaddressed.

My album was ultimately ruled not to have been slander, as I never used his name, likeness, or identifying features in my work; nonetheless, he won the suit and obtained a completely unwarranted restraining order against me, subsequently burying me in legal fees to the extent I may soon have to file bankruptcy and leave California and my producers, my people, my music, my passion, and my purpose behind.

In addition to all of this, I was diagnosed with a severe panic disorder at 16, and he conspired with my ex-roommate to steal and sell my prescription anxiety medication while I was home for the holidays last year in order to fund their narcotic addiction. This left me without medication for a full 60 days, which was beyond agonizing in and of itself. He later placed her on his witness list as a means to disrupt my mental state mid-trial, knowing she previously assaulted me and was forcibly removed by the sheriff and three bouncers for doing so at a venue in West Hollywood where I held my album release party.

He then removed her from the witness list after my team and I presented our rebuttal evidence, because it so heavily incriminated the pair of them. Videos of them partaking in illegal substances in my kitchen, texts messages between them and our other mutual friends in which she admitted to having stolen firearms and my new address. Once again, law enforcement officers took no action, because the threats were not directly sent to me, and both of these individuals continue to hide behind surrogate social media accounts and burner phone numbers. Presenting the evidence I had on my ex-roomate and ex boyfriend combined would have easily changed the entire outcome of the case, so he buried the evidence, removed her, and ensured I was unable to do so. I was unable to subpoena her to my witness list because she was unable to be located, as my ex tipped her off to hide out at their friend’s house until the trial was over.

Throughout the trial, I was forced to seek intensive therapy and within two sessions was assessed to have severe PTSD and Domestic Stockholm’s Syndrome, a condition in which you side with your abusive spouse, submitting to their will, in order to preserve your life and avoid conflict or further abuse at absolutely any cost. I lost all my closest friends and family because he forced me into dual-self isolation with him. I became a different person, someone I did not recognize, someone my own family did not recognize. I am now fighting everyday to get back to that girl, and the weight of it all is soul crushing.

Any amount you can donate helps, no matter how small, I swear to you, I am doing everything within my power to survive this. My parents have spent thousands flying from my small midwestern home town out to California to help defend me, and are now no longer able to help me financially. I recently lost my aunt and was not able to return home for the funeral because of the financial burden this situation has placed on my family as well as the ongoing trial.

I know now, after this continual state of loss and his continued attempts to hack and destroy my life’s work; that this battle is far too large for me alone to fight. I’ve fought with every fiber of my being for the last year and it has resulted in chronic illness, financial ruin and emotional and bodily trauma beyond my medical professionals’ comprehension.

The impact this situation has had on my relationship with my family and our financial stability has been nothing short of detrimental. All the money I’ve made from my sync placements, shows, and royalties has been spent defending my ex’s entirely fraudulent claim and chipping away at the hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt from injuries he incurred. His actions are quite literally tearing my family apart and it is killing me slowly to watch and to feel so entirely helpless.

It is difficult to put into words the agony and exhaustion of sitting on stand in front of an entire courtroom of our families and my closest friends, reliving the most traumatic experience of my life; only to be mocked and ridiculed…and ultimately convicted of a crime my ex committed, because he filed continuance after continuance in order to buy time to fabricate evidence that negated and held up over my own very real, very traumatic experiences.

I am not ashamed to admit, I made horrible mistakes. I cared unconditionally for a person who wanted nothing more than to see me fall apart, but it is imperative that he be held accountable and that I should not be punished for speaking out about my abuse, or expressing myself honestly and artistically. I want nothing more than to make my music and continue to tell my story, and it’s clear to me now that it is my ex’s deepest desire to drive me out of my home here and ensure that never happens, for fear of being exposed for what he is; a pathological liar, manipulator, cheater, abuser, thief and felon. He is terrified of the people in his circle finding out the truth. He has left me broken, with nothing left to lose but my life itself, which I’m aware could also quite literally be at stake if no action is taken, given his repetitively malicious actions, testimonial to access to firearms, dark web connections, and previous criminal charges.

My biggest regret to this day is not calling the police the night he punched me so hard in the jaw thought I would never sing again. The next morning he woke up on the couch, and I woke up in my bedroom with the door locked expecting him to have left after the incident. I opened the door to the living room and he was on his laptop, and asked me why his fingerprint had been taken off my electronic door lock...as if none of it ever happened. Whether it was narcotic induced amnesia, or extremely effective gaslighting, I will never truly know. But this was not an isolated incident, and even his own mother noted regarding the physical abuse and outbursts of rage, “I wish I could say this was the first time.”

There is no room for pride in a situation like this one; and if you can relate in anyway, please know that I’m also here to listen to your story - and that the reason I write these songs is to heal myself and to heal others who’ve gone through what I’ve gone through. I know I’m not alone in this, and neither are you.

In a world where an abuser’s reputation is more important than a young artist’s very life and wellbeing, I am left with no choice but to reach out to those of you who are able to support me through this extremely painful period of my life. Please know that I truly wouldn’t be asking for help if it weren’t a dire, life or death situation. I cannot say more, as no criminal charges have been made to date, but his harassment is ongoing, as is my ex-roommate’s, and it is increasingly disturbing.

The last year has been a waking nightmare, attempting to heal my mind and body while under the burden of hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical and legal fees.

I have never been so heartbroken or lost. The physical injuries, while serious enough to land me in the ER, pale in comparison to the injustice I’ve suffered at the hands of this horrifying man and his family, primarily his mother who lied under oath directly following our conversation detailing his previously abusive behavior towards girlfriends in the past, as well as an unbelievably corrupt and careless legal system that favored this man despite concrete evidence of his abuse.

Any and all funds raised past my original goal will be used to offset medical expenses, repay my own attorney fees, and rebuild my life in LA after the devastating impact this individual has had on my health, financial stability, and career as an artist.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my story, for supporting my music and for any contribution you are able to make. It means the world, and hopefully the restoration and continuation of my career as a songwriter.

All my love, and with extreme gratitude,

Olivia Engler

(DOLL)