Author Diaz denies all sexual misconduct allegations against him
Writer Zinzi says Diaz forcibly kissed her years ago
Boston: Pulitzer Prizewinning author Junot Diaz is speaking out about the sexual misconduct allegations against him. The Boston Globe
reports Diaz adamantly denies the accusations from women who say he behaved inappropriately.
Diaz says it doesn’t sound “like anything that’s in my life, anything that’s me.”
Author Zinzi Clemmons and other female writers have recently shared stories of Diaz’s behaviour.
Clemmons said Diaz forcibly kissed her several years ago; others cited instances when they felt he had verbally attacked them.
Diaz has, however, said he takes responsibility for his past actions.
Diaz is keeping his teaching and editing positions at the Massachusetts institute of Technology and Boston Review following separate investigations into wrongdoing. A top editor at Boston
Review said the accusations lacked “the kind of severity” that animated the # MeToo movement.
Alisa Rivera met with Diaz about cultural identity and claims that Diaz noted her light skin and sided with those who have bullied her. She said the meeting left her in tears.
Another writer Monica Byrne accused Diaz of “verbal sexual assault” at a dinner party in 2014 on Twitter.
Carmen Maria Machado, also an author, tweeted an alleged incident of “bullying and misogyny” by Diaz during a promotional event for his 2012 short story collection This is How You Lose Her.
Machado said Diaz was angered when she asked about “his protagonist’s unhealthy, pathological relationship with women,” berating her in front of a group.