The love and hate relationship of Curtis Lepore and Jessi Smiles!
Vine was launched in January 2013 and it soon swept the young world. The six-second video platform was the ‘in thing’ for the millennials. Those with charm and sex appeal with some humor mastered it and earned it. Curtis Lepore and Jessi Smiles were also superstars on this platform. The two met online, and love sparked between them but soon things changed. What happened that led to the love-to-hate transformation between these two love birds?
Curtis Lepore and Jessi Smiles: the couple
Jessi Smiles, whose real name is Jessica Vasquez was a cashier working at a day spa. She joined Vine and in less than a year, her world changed. She had said:
“My whole life has done, like, 20 somersaults,”
“It happened very fast. When you’re on Vine, you become a brand. Everyone is a brand. I’m a brand, and there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Then comes another Vine star, Curtis Lepore in her life. They begin dating and go public with their romance. They meet in New York at Washington Square Park and their fans come there in large numbers to witness their first kiss.
But soon, things changed drastically. Jessi accused Curtis of raping her. Were the allegations true?
Jessi and her rape charges against Curtis
In October 2013, Jessi made an allegation that her boyfriend, Curtis raped her. Jessi suffered a concussion in Los Angeles and was recovering. Curtis came over to help and support her. Jessi claimed that when she fell asleep, Curtis raped her.
In January 2014, Jessi made a case against Curtis. He was arrested and later released on bail. He pleaded not guilty. One month later, the rape charges were dropped and he was accused of felony assault. And one year later, the charges were minimized to a misdemeanor.
Curtis’s side of the story
Four years later, on 19 December 2019, Curtis tweeted his side of the story. He addressed all his fans and wrote a lengthy clarification of the incident. He labeled the incident as unfortunate and complicated. Curtis stated that he is aware that sexual assault is a plague for society. It is a disgusting, degrading, and violating act that should never happen.
Further, Curtis went on to reveal that Jessi and he had frequent consensual sex. And on that fateful day, she did make sexual advancements towards him. He thought that she too wanted sex and reciprocated. There was no explicit verbal consent though. Curtis said that later suddenly she opened her eyes and said that he had raped her. This accusation confused Curtis. Still, he apologized and took her to her friend’s place.
Later, she made a phone call to him that was recorded by the police. Curtis said that he had no intention to harm her and wanted closure of the relationship and case. But the police arrested him. Curtis was forced to accept the plea deal. He did weekly therapy sessions and 24 hours of community service. He was legally bound to not talk on this case for two years. Hence he chose to remain quiet on it.
Curtis added that he wanted to move on in life and do things he liked the most: create content for social media.
Short bio on Curtis Lepore
Curtis Lepore is an American YouTuber and former Viner. More bio…