After singer Seal‘s neighbor, Tracey Birdsall accused him of sexual assault last month, the police department opened a criminal investigation on him. The two developed a friendship, according to Birdsall. She claimed that the singer allegedly groped her and forced a kiss on her after inviting her into his home to retrieve a salad spinner that he had borrowed. Documents obtained by TMZ stated that the alleged assault happened back in February 2016, so why come forward now? Tracey said that she decided to come forth with her claims after Seal posted a video on Facebook criticizing Hollywood for enabling sexual predators and encouraging other women to come forward with their own stories of sexual misconduct.
Unfortunately for Tracey, the charges against Seal were dismissed by the L.A. District Attorney’s office due to lack of evidence, and witnesses to support Birdsall’s allegations and because the statue of limitations officially ran out. Prior to the D.A.’s decision, Seal released a statement saying that he “vehemently denies the recent allegations made against him by a former neighbor for alleged misconduct more than a year ago.”
In the beginning of the year, Seal caught a lot of heat for mocking those who support the #MeToo movement like Oprah Winfrey. He posted a photo of Winfrey kissing film executive Harvey Weinstein on the cheek. He later apologized, stating that the photo was not meant for Oprah, but it was “an observation of the toxic nature of Hollywood.”
