A number of women in the literary community came forward Friday to accuse Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz of sexual misconduct and verbal abuse, The Grapevine reports.
Author Zinzi Clemmons tweeted that when she was a grad student, Díaz "corner[ed] and forcibly kiss[ed]" her, adding: "I'm far from the only one he's done this [to]." Author Monica Byrnes recalled sitting next to Díaz at a dinner when she "disagreed with him on a minor point. He shouted the word 'rape' in my face to prove his. It was completely bizarre, disproportionate, and violent." Author Carmen Maria Machado also tweeted allegations about Díaz, who she says ranted at her "for 20 minutes" during a Q&A when she raised questions about the "unhealthy, pathological relationship" the protagonist of his book, This Is How You Lose Her, has with women.
In April, Díaz wrote an essay for The New Yorker grappling with the trauma of being raped as a child and "the hurt I caused" in the intervening years.