Jessi Smiles, the woman who became popular for posting a bunch of videos on Vine, is getting a lot of backlash for accusing her boyfriend Curtis Lepore of rape back in October. The story was first reported by the celebrity site TMZ.
Smiles and Lepore–who’s also a popular Vine user–met on the video sharing website, and weeks after the two met up in Los Angeles for the very first time. Apparently, there were two reasons the couple met up. One, to make their relationship official by spending time together and two, to create more Vine videos to send out to their tons of followers.
According to Smiles, she received a concussion while she went to California to meet Lepore, as he lives in Los Angeles and she lives in Florida. Initially, Lepore was taking care of his new girlfriend and trying to nurse her back to health, but one day, as she was sleeping, she says that Lepore raped her and subsequently he was officially charged.
I honestly believed that love and positivity didn't exist on Vine anymore. Boy, was I wrong. THANK YOU. #sp… https://t.co/EY0dDX8wK1
— Jessi Smiles (@jessismiles__) January 17, 2014
Thank u all 4 your continued support it gives me the strength 2 move forward thru the negativity and create content. I ❤️ u guys so much!
— Curtis Lepore (@curtislepore) January 17, 2014
The story got a lot of recent attention when Smiles received several negative comments from both her supporters and Lepore’s, and she chose to respond to those comments via her Twitter account. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you just have to love the love more than you hate the hate,” she wrote.
Smiles also took the time to thank those who believe her story and support her. “I honestly believed that love and positivity didn’t exist on Vine anymore. Boy, was I wrong. Thank you,” she tweeted.
And Lepore used Twitter to thank his supporters too. “Thank u all 4 your continued support,” he wrote. “It gives me the strength 2 move forward thru the negativity and create content. I love you guys so much!”
Obviously, there will be more details about this case in the weeks and months to come.
Image via YouTube