Houston art and music festival Day for Night has cut ties with its founder, Omar Afra, following sexual misconduct allegations, the festival’s creditors announced on Facebook yesterday, August 12. “We stand with all victims of abuse,” they wrote. In a Facebook post, Afra announced that he would be stepping down from his positions both at the festival and at Free Press Houston, where he was the publisher, but said, “I have no choice but to fight back against allegations that are patently false.” The future of the festival is not presently clear.

According to the Houston Chronicle and CultureMap Houston, two women, Veronica Ramos and Phoenix Hamilton, posted allegations on Facebook that Afra sexually assaulted them. Ramos, who said she had a professional relationship with Afra due to her photography work, claimed that Afra forcibly kissed and groped her at the Free Press office in October 2010, following a concert she had photographed at Fitzgerald's, a nightclub he owned. “I was afraid, in shock and felt unsafe in my own city and creative community,” Ramos wrote. “I gave up on my passion for photography. My career and personal life completely changed. I moved across the world to Africa to get as far away as possible.” Hamilton claimed that Afra forcibly kissed her following a conversation about a job opportunity with Day for Night. She said the incident took place in October 2017.

Amanda Hart, a former employee of Afra's who shared Ramos' and Hamilton's stories on her Facebook page, wrote, “I have personally seen him cultivate a toxic work environment where people are manipulated, mistreated and abused emotionally. I didn't just see how he would treat people but experienced this behavior myself." She added, “When I found out that he had physically hurt women in our community I was sick to my stomach but not surprised. It all made so much sense. Of course this person used his power in this disgusting way because that's who he is, always has been.”

In his Facebook post, Afra called the allegations a “coordinated attempt,” and said, “It would do no justice to anyone for me to capitulate to lies and fabrications.” He added, “In the recent years I have veered away from what I knew was right and caused pain to those around me including family and friends. I am most sorry to Andrea, a woman that has stood by me for 20 years now. Because of this, I have been in therapy for over a year and have been doing some real work on myself and trying to get back on the path of focusing on the real me; a man who loves his family and wants to do right by people.”

In its three years, Day for Night featured performances from Kendrick Lamar, Björk, Solange, Aphex Twin, Thom Yorke, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, and more. The festival also hosted talks from Chelsea Manning, Laurie Anderson, Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova, and others. Pitchfork Radio broadcast live from Day for Night in 2017.