Allie X is setting the record straight.
The Canadian pop star shared a statement on Monday, responding to backlash over a video that was posted to Twitter about her leaving her dog in the car while shopping in California.
The video was posted by singer Simon Curtis, who said in the thread that he saw the dog panting and drooling in the car with the windows rolled up, and stayed by the car for 20 minutes while calling security and the police.
Curtis also claimed that when Allie returned and was confronted about leaving her dog in the car without air conditioning in 35-degree Celsius weather, she rolled her eyes and laughed.
Though Curtis did not know Allie’s identity, users on Twitter quickly identified her from the video.
In her statement, Allie explained that before leaving her dog, Koji, she had turned the air conditioning down low in order to get the temperature down.
She added that checking her grocery shopping receipt, she had only been away from the car for 11 minutes, not 20, as Curtis had claimed, and that the car was still cool inside when she got back.
“Koji was completely okay. I say those as facts, not defensively. I want to be clear that there was absolutely no ‘crowd forming’ around my car and absolutely nobody was ‘watching a dog die for over twenty minutes,’” she wrote.
Allie continued: “There would be footage if that was true. I wasn’t laughing like a ‘Karen,’ I was laughing because I was frightened and uncomfortable of these two men outside of my car. These details matter, and because of the dramatizations I’ve received hundreds of attacks and death threats made more terrifying by the fact that this person posted my face and my identifiable information with the sole intent to dox me.”
She added, though, that the situation “educated” her, and she offered a “genuine apology.”
“I actually felt it was safer to keep the windows up because I had the AC blasting at 60 F right before I got out and wanted to maintain the cool temp, but I didn’t know in California it is illegal to have a dog in the car without the window open (no matter how brief or cool inside),” she explained. “I regret doing anything that could hurt her in anyway and I won’t do it again.”
Allie added, “To everyone concerned- she is in good health.”
Addressing Curtis directly, she said, “Thank you for your concern. I feel it necessary to say though, perhaps a conversation would have been more productive than what transpired? I certainly would have been happy to speak to you about Koji and her well-being if I hadn’t been frightened of you and your aggressive behaviour. Bullying me, making fun of the way I look etc feels like a strange way to fight for animal rights…so does using it as an opportunity to promote your music?”
She continued, “But we all have our own ways of communicating and I understand you were very upset in the moment. I felt cornered and scared of you.”
Finally, Allie added, “Koji’s philosophy is to see the best in people, so maybe we should both give that a try.”