What are the Vulvodynia band allegations? All about the South African death metal group as vocalist Zion Bittenbender issues statement

Vulvodynia, the South African death metal group, is receiving backlash from fans after sexual assault allegations against their new vocalist came out.

Vulvodynia was formed by Luke Haarhoff and Duncan Bentley in 2014. The following year, other band members joined as they started preparing for tours.

Bentley had to leave the band in May 2023, after the other members accused him of being violent on multiple occasions.

They claimed that Duncan beat up the drummer, Thomas Hughes, and he had to get hospitalized with various injuries and a broken nose.

Meanwhile, Zion Bittenbender became Vulvodynia's vocalist on October 30, 2025. The current lineup includes Zion, Lwandile Prusent, Luke Haarhoff, Kris Xenopoulos, Nate Gilbert, and Thomas Hughes.

The Instagram user xdryptopsyx uploaded screenshots of Zion Bittenbender's alleged conversations with his fiancée, and accused him of r*pe. The post also included the alleged victim's statement.

The anonymous woman stated that she started dating Zion when he was 19, and she was 16. After she turned 18, they got engaged and eventually moved in together.

She claimed that while transferring audio in his phone, she found AI-generated nude pictures of her friends.

After she confronted him, the Vulvodynia singer reportedly admitted that he found them "really cute" and paid money to create nude pictures. Bittenbender allegedly apologized and deleted the images.

The unidentified woman shared that on multiple occasions, she woke up from sleep and found him supposedly performing sexual acts with her, while she could not consent.

On another occasion, she said that he allegedly tried to have sex when she didn't, so she "curled up into a ball," and he left the room.

Then he returned and reportedly asked whether she was embarrassed by her behavior.

The woman mentioned that Zion's brother allegedly said that she was "sexually abusing Zion" by withholding sex.

The Instagram post included screenshots of the singer's alleged texts, in which he seemingly apologized for his behavior.

The user, xdryptopsyx, claimed that the band members and the official Vulvodynia handle reportedly blocked them.

Vulvodynia and Zion Bittenbender released their statements

The vocalist first released a statement in which he called the allegations "false and deeply hurtful." He stated in his Instagram story on November 6 that such rumors have spread in the past as well.

However, he has never been investigated or charged.

Zion stated that as a brother to two sisters, he could not harm another woman. He also shared that he would take legal action against the people who accused him of r*pe and sexual assault.

"I have 2 sisters and a girlfriend who I love dearly and being accused of harming a woman is something I am completely incapable of and those who know me and my character know that I would never do such a thing. I take matters like this very seriously and have always conducted myself with integrity and respect toward others," he wrote.

Vulvodynia released a statement a few hours later, saying they understood the seriousness of the matter.

The death metal band noted that they would let legal and professional channels handle the matter before commenting.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Vulvodynia controversy.