Who owns Cloak and Dagger? Adam Bravin, Michael Patterson accused of ignoring sexual assault claims at LA club
Cloak and Dagger, the goth nightclub of downtown Los Angeles known for its grungy, over the top, sexually charged atmosphere promising a place ripe with creative energy is now under fire for serious sexual misconduct allegations as employees go on record to accuse the co-founders Adam Bravin and Michael Patterson of knowing well what has been happening.
An accuser, Hannah Harding, 23. has opened up about receiving inappropriate sexual gestures from ‘Silicon Valley’ actor Thomas Middleditch on October 22, 2019. Harding recalled the 39-year-old actor approaching her on the dance floor making lewd sexual overtures. The staff of Cloak and Dagger had brought serious concerns over the actor’s behavior to the owners Bravin and Patterson. Operation manager, Kate Morgan who was one of the staff present at the scene when Middleditch groped Harding in front of friends and other members suggested throwing the actor out and van him but she said, "I felt like they dismissed it," and added, "I told Adam that he needed to listen, that this was not OK."
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Who is Adam Bravin?
Adam Bravin, co-founder of Cloak and Dagger also known as DJ Adam 12 was part of the popular darkwave duo ‘She Wants Revenge’. The goth rock musician has also boasted of being the personal DJ for former president Barack Obama. Apart from ‘She Wants Revenge’, Bravin has also released his solo project ‘Love Ecstasy Terror’.
In light of the recent sexual assault allegations, Bravin stated, "Our goal from day one was to create the safest space possible," L.A. Times reported adding that he always trusted the volunteers to "keep an eye out over their community and be a conduit to management or security."
Who is Michael Patterson
Michael Patterson, the Grammy-nominated producer, deemed as one of the veteran musicians of L.A. scene worked in soundtracks and scores for ‘The Social Network’ and ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’. Patterson also worked for ‘She Wants Revenge’s first two albums ‘She Wants Revenge’ and ‘This Is Forever’.
Speaking of the allegations, Patterson claimed, “My goal for Cloak & Dagger was to create an atmosphere that would inspire people to be their best and most creative self," he wrote in an email, Times reported.
Secrets of Cloak and Dagger
As many as ten women including four former employees claimed that the founders of the place ignored the allegations of sexual misconduct and tried to shove everything under the pretense of the club’s ‘boundary-pushing aesthetic’. Operation manager Kate Morgan told the publication, “Michael said he wanted to have a 'real cult,'" speaking from the experience of working at the club for three years and added, "We all felt complicit but realized we'd been duped as well."
One of the key elements of the memberships in Cloak and Dagger was its absolute sworn secrecy. Whatever happens inside the club has to stay there, a staff said. "Don't go anywhere uninvited," the employed told the guests after entering. "If you speak of anything you have seen or heard here, you will lose [your membership]. If you see or hear anyone else speaking of what they saw or heard, let us know. Do you understand?"
One of the rituals to work at the nightclub was to get inked a knife tattoo at the beginning along with a robed initiation ritual. Annie Lesser, an L.A. playwright and theater producer who worked in composing Cloak's scripted elements like the initiation rituals said, "By letting us mark you, you were giving us your trust and power. It was all designed around that dynamic." Lesser, 32 mentioned, "People had an emotional attachment to it in a way you couldn't do with a normal club."
Horrific sexual assault claims at Cloak and Dagger
Along with Hannah Harding, more horrendous sexual assault allegations have emerged which involve the staff working at the club as well. Elisabeth was one such victim who was sexually assaulted by a Cloak member as she called, "It took me having to scream for him to get off of me." She confided to a close friend, an actress who performed at the club, and later, Morgan and the actress confronted the man.
Reportedly, later, Bravin called the actress and was furious with her, "I was banned for a month, which shocked me," she added. "I thought the goal was to create a safe space." Morgan provided more information saying how the actress was called into a company meeting and "Michael and Adam were furious with her," Morgan supplied. "They suspended her, apologized to the member and said to move on." Addressing the incident, Bravin said, "I spoke with the [accused] member the following day, and he gave his account of a consensual experience." Elisabeth has said that Bravin did not reach out to her.
The Avante-Garde rituals which included BDSM and other bondage play needing safe words
From candlelit tarot sessions to sensory-deprivation or avant-garde dance recitals, the theme and scenery of the club changed weekly as members came in dressed in BDSM leather, lingerie or less. During the pagan-inspired themes, the guests would ‘unburden’ their troubled self to the staff for which there were safe words filed in case things take a nasty turn. One reassurance post from Bravin in 2018 read, "If any members ever see a member or a guest of a member being rude, aggressive, invading personal space, taking photos/video, breaking rules, anything out of line, immediately inform [us] so we can handle it immediately."
The ritual guide gushed, "I felt like I finally found people who didn't think I was weird and celebrated what I believed in," and went on to claim, "I had plenty of experiences where people would go through the rituals and be bawling by the end."
Bravin’s alleged sexual advances to staff
In a Zoom meeting with former employees, the majority of the women staff claimed that Bravin flirted with female employees, sending texts at 2 am. A female staffer said, "When I started at Cloak, I was living with an abusive boyfriend," the staff asking for anonymity added, "I was vulnerable. [Bravin] and I slept together a few times, and he offered to hook me up with movie roles or to jam with She Wants Revenge." The promises never materialized as she added, "When it went sour with us, it definitely affected the work environment.” She noted, "I'd come to work, and he wouldn't speak to me."
Because of the unwanted attention from Bravin, staff and members did not feel comfortable going to him with complaints.
Annie Lesser added, "Adam flirted with almost every female employee, either asked them out directly or sent flirty messages at 2 a.m.," She recalled, "We organized a [separate] Zoom meeting for former employees where someone said, 'Raise your hand if you've been hit on by Adam and Michael.'" The vast majority raised their hands, Lesser said; other employees recalled the meeting similarly.” Because of the unwanted attention from Bravin, staff and members did not feel comfortable going to him with complaints. Member Alison Waxman, 28 said, how Bravin used the same line son, everyone, "hit on me straight away, and he'd use the same methods and lines to all my friends: 'Oh, you inspired my set tonight.' We were all rolling our eyes, but there was pressure to be like, 'Thanks!'"
Bravin clarified to the Times, “as a result of my unconscionable ignorance to an existing power dynamic between me as part-owner of Cloak & Dagger and the members, I came to understand how my flirtatious communication could have been inappropriate and unacceptable."
Why did Cloak and Dagger shut down?
Vanessa Benton, a 27-year-old Black member recounted, "We were out in the streets protesting and then got an email saying, 'Come party,'" she then said, "I came at them respectfully, saying, 'I'm a Black member, and it's disturbing that you haven't said anything yet.'"
Amid more criticism, Bravin and Patterson hosted a Zoom call which had longtime members and Alison Waxman stated in the call, "you need to stop hitting on every woman who comes in. We don't like it, we're half your age, it's inappropriate." Later, Bravin posted on Instagram, "My behavior was inappropriate and unacceptable," adding that he was "also educating myself on why and how my behavior could be harmful and emotionally manipulative."
In January, amid the rising numbers of sexual allegations, the club was shut down as a note from the founder to the members read, "Thank you for your business and support over the years. We wish you the best."