Keli HolidayKeli Holiday – aka Adam Hyde, one half of Peking Duk – has opened up about recent disturbing occurrences of being “threatened with violence” while out in public.
He detailed the alleged incidents in an interview on Abbie Chatfield’s It’s A Lot podcast. Chatfield is also Hyde’s partner, and in a previous episode of the podcast, he detailed being diagnosed with melanoma.
“Twice in the last week and a half, I’ve been threatened with violence in real life, like, in the street,” the Dancing2 hitmaker told Chatfield. He said that on one occasion, a car drove past and he heard yelling from the driver, “screaming homophobic slurs,” mixed with death threats.
Hyde added that another car followed and started yelling the same. Hyde then explained that, as well as death threats towards him, he and Chatfield have been subjected to additional threats, with some people even knowing their address.
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“That’s not a fucking joke; that’s serious shit,” Hyde said. Chatfield discussed the rise in hostile online rhetoric and fascism, with the pair concluding that Hyde has been the subject of harassment “because I love my girlfriend.”
You can watch a snippet of the interview below and tune in to the It’s A Lot podcast here.
Chatfield continued to outline the online abuse—that’s now extended to real-life—Hyde has experienced on social media.
“In the last few months @keliholiday has been the manosphere’s favourite obsession,” she wrote. “Instead of focusing on actually bad men, [they] have decided to put all of their energy toward harassing, mocking and abusing a man that is …. Nice? Who…. Loves his girlfriend? Who enjoys women’s sports ???”
Chatfield said that as a result of “targeted online harassment veiled as ‘comedy,’” Hyde has been targeted in public. “This dehumanisation and attempt to demean us has quickly escalated to this: multiple instances of threats of violence near our home,” she continued. “Not to mention, imagery used by these ‘comedians’ often includes Adam with a belt around his neck. So much for men’s mental health?”
She added that ignoring hate can’t work, as people targeting the couple “become more emboldened and aggressive.”
“This, of course, is all based in misogyny, including homophobia and a desire to reinforce toxic ideals of masculinity by punishing anyone who diverges from their perceived ‘norm,’” she wrote. “Their insults reveal more about the resurgence in toxic patriarchal culture than they do about Adam or myself.”
Chatfield continued by noting that Hyde is experiencing an “increased presence in the media”—his single, Dancing2, recently came in at #2 on the triple j Hottest 100—and that’s “hit a sore spot” for those targeting the singer.
She concluded, “This conversation is not just about Adam and I, it’s about a noticeable shift in the acceptance misogyny in Australia. We have to keep speaking about it, calling it out and not tolerating it.”
The new Keli Holiday album, Capital Fiction, is set for release next Friday (13 February). Hyde will tour across the country this month and into March in support of the record.
“I can’t wait to present these songs from my album to a room of sweat and beauty,” Holiday said upon announcing the tour in November. “I feel that the best way to connect music to the listener is to have the room be the speaker, and the live performance of each song, be the boat we all sit in together.”
