Last week Icelandic singer Salka Sól Eyfeld’s took to her twitter to share an unsettling experience she had while performing at Icelandair’s annual staff party.
Til mannsins sem kleip í rassinn á mér rétt áður en ég labbaði uppá svið á Iceland Air árshátíðinni í gær: fokk you dóni.
— Salka Sól Eyfeld (@salkadelasol) March 26, 2017
The tweet reads, “To the man who groped my ass right before I walked up on stage at the Icelandair annual staff party last night: fuck you creep”.
“I remember thinking, I can’t believe this is still happening, I was so surprised,” Salka Sól said in an interview with Vísir.”If I hadn’t been about to climb up on stage I would have stopped him and asked what the hell was wrong with him. He turned around [as I went on to perform] and clearly thought he was really funny and clever.”
When contacted for comment, Icelandair’s VP of Corporate Communications, Guðjón Arngrímsson insisted the company “condemn any such behaviour and regrets that it took place at this event.”
When Grapevine further pressed Guðjón to find out whether any action was being taken to root out and reprimand the man who groped Salka Sól there was no reply.
Not the First Time Female Performers Groped At Icelandair Staff Party
When DJ, Margrét Erla Maack, gigged for Icelandair some years ago she too was sexually accosted by an Icelandair employee.
“First I want to stress that I have gigged multiple times for Icelandair, and this was the only negative experience I’ve had during their events,” Margrét Erla Maack told the Grapevine, going on to explain that while at the party the man approached her DJ Booth, threatened her and groped at her. “Security was nowhere to be found and when I asked guests at the party to help me I got the reply, “Oh, is he at it again?” The clearest memory I have is of feeling like I was not able to get away.”
Following the gig Margrét Erla wrote a blog post detailing her experience though she did not mention Icelandair nor the man who groped her by name.
“I am extremely disappointed [by how Icelandair handled it]. I got a call from a woman on the party’s planning committee who started saying how a person hired to do a job was expected to show respect. I, of course, thought she was referring to him, and not me. But no, she was talking about me! Demanded I removed the blog and then told me Icelandair would never hire me again. I was a young lady and I removed the blog. I really believed her when she said I’d never get a gig again,” Margrét Erla said.
When asked to confirm Margrét’s story and whether the man who groped her was reprimanded, Icelandair again, did not comment.
“I am hoping that times have changed since my incident,” said Margrét Erla. “It makes me happy Salka Sól got an apology [from Icelandair] and not threats. And as for the groper, have the decency to stay at home when nice people are trying to have fun. You’re ruining the party and your company’s reputation.”
An Outpouring of Support
Margrét Erla wasn’t the only Icelandic celebrity to reach out and sympathise with Salka Sól. In the aftermath of Salka Sól’s tweet, Icelandic rock singer, Bubbi Morthens tweeted, “Over the years I’ve had women grab my crotch and ass and tell me they were going to fuck me then call me a fag when I turned them down, Salka I so understand.”
Á Ferli mínum hafa konur gripið í klof mér og rassinn sagt ég ætla ríða þér kallað mig homma þegar ég sagði nei @salkadelasol skil þig svo
— Bubbi Morthens (@BubbiMorthens) March 27, 2017
Another musician, Elísabet Ormslev, told MBL that being groped by strangers while performing was almost more common than not.
“It’s as if some people believe they have a right to you because you’re on stage and you’re opening yourself up in a certain way, making yourself vulnerable while you perform” said Elísabet.
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