Opera singer David Daniels and husband accused of raping singer
David Daniels (Brad Barket/Getty)
An acclaimed opera singer has been accused of drugging and raping a younger singer with his partner in his apartment eight years ago.
Opera singer David Daniels has taken leave of absence from his job as a music professor at the University of Michigan since the allegations emerged.
Samuel Schultz (Instagram)
Samuel Schultz, 32, wrote in a post on his website – which didn’t name anybody – that he had been raped by “a celebrated opera singer and his boyfriend.”
However, The New York Daily News has since named Daniels and his husband, Scott Walters, as the alleged rapists.
Both Daniels and Walters deny the allegations.
Schultz said the incident took place in May 2010 just after he had finished his first year of graduate school, when he was just 23.
He said that he had been introduced to Daniels and his partner by a friend and had attended the final night of one of his performances.
Afterwards, Schultz alleged that he was invited back to their apartment, where he was given a drink. He said that he then lost consciousness and woke up the next afternoon, alone in the apartment. When he woke up, he said he was naked and bleeding from the rectum.
When Daniels returned, Schultz claimed that he made a remark which suggested that they had had sex without a condom.
The New York Daily News quotes two people who said that Schultz told them about the attack at the time. He said he was afraid to come forward before now as he feared the allegations could ruin his career.
In a post on his website where he first spoke about his experience, Schultz said that he now has the strength to own his story and “to take back the power” it has had over him to try to bring an end to rape.
“I have been terrified to talk about this publicly because, as many know, people in positions of power… have not been held accountable in the past.
Samuel Schultz (Instagram)
“There was a legitimate danger of destroying my career by reporting someone else’s assault against me. Because of this, I have lived with the fear of exclusion and being silenced which means that my story has not been told.
“I did not know that the word ‘rape’ applied to what happened to me until I lethargically went to tell a friend, and told her through tears and emptiness, what happened to me.
“In fact, I was so naïve that I didn’t know that I should have gone to the hospital or even what a ‘rape kit’ is.”
He also called for more education about the reality of rape, and finished his post by saying that he hopes speaking out encourages others “to come forward and say #MeToo.”
Schultz’s allegations are the latest in a series of #MeToo moments to rock the classical music world. A number of high-profile classical music stars have been accused of sexual misconduct, including James Levine and Daniel Lipton.
