Rock singer calls brother’s claims he sexually abused him ‘wildly misleading’
Bear Rinehart, lead singer of the rock band NEEDTOBREATHE , has responded to sex abuse allegations made by his brother and former bandmate, Bo.
After Bo accused his brother of sexually abusing him when they were children, Bear shared his side of the story on social media.
“My brother and I were both sexually abused at the age of 8 and 6 by a teenage counselor at the Christian camp where we grew up,” Bear wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday, June 14. “Neither of us received support for these events until well into adulthood and were both left to navigate the rest of childhood and adolescence with deep pain and confusion.”
The singer went on to say his brother’s accusations “conflates our shared experience of abuse with a childhood incident he misrepresents.”
“To now label me as an abuser in such a heartless way is not only deeply painful, but it is also wildly misleading and feels intentionally harmful,” Bear said after explaining how he and Bo went through therapy together to address the abuse.
“While going through a two day intensive counseling session with Bo five years ago, I learned that he was hurt by things that happened in our early teen years as well,” Bear wrote. “At that counseling session I took full responsibility for any part I played in that pain. We processed those moments of shared trauma in detail and left with an understanding that we were two young boys trying to cope with the unimaginable.”
Last Thursday, Bo shared a statement on social media alleging that he was sexually abused by multiple people during his childhood, including his brother Bear.
“This is Bo. I am an alcoholic. I am a sinner, but I am a believer. I believe in God’s grace, and I believe that his mercy has shown that he is consistent, even though we don’t deserve it,” Bo wrote on Instagram . “I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I’ve been sexually abused by a Camp counselor. I’ve been sexually, physically and emotionally abused by my brother. And I’ve been abused by my youth pastor.
“I believe that God has bigger plans for me and part of those plans are telling my story because it’s so hard for anyone to tell stories like these. Even when my faith has been crushed, I know that God still has provisions for me,” he continued. “If you’re out there and you’re thinking, nothing can be done, no one can help, there’s no way out… I’m with you… but I believe in a God who always finds a way. Don’t give up and don’t lose hope.”
Despite all this, Bear said that he is “still hopeful for a reconciliation some day with my brother.”
NEEDTOBREATHE was formed by the Rinehart brothers in South Carolina. The band released its debut album, “The Feature,” in 2001. NEEDTOBREATHE has since released nine more albums, six of which have topped the Christian Albums chart . The band has also charted multiple singles on several charts including including “Washed by the Water” (No. 1 on the Hot Christian Songs chart), “Brother” with Gavin DeGraw (No. 98 the Hot 100), and “Who Am I” (No. 14 on the Hot Alternative Songs chart). NEEDTOBREATHE received a Grammy Award nomination for their song “Multiplied” in 2015. Bo left the group in 2020 .
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