NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Harrison Patrick Smith, a NYC-based musician who goes by the stage name The Dare, has come under fire over the disturbing cover image for his first EP titled ‘The Sex', which was released on May 12. The cover features two young girls, presumed to be children, in sexually suggestive poses. In the photo, one girl could be seen wearing a red-colored school sports style outfit while another could be seen in a gray pleated school-style skirt.
The provocative image shows the first girl being bent over by a man atop a speaker and the second girl straddling a man lying on his back. Both the girls’ faces have been covered by their blonde hairs. The photo was reportedly captured by Staten Island-born photographer and artist Leander Capuozzo for Smith’s EP. Both the musician and the photographer received major backlash after releasing the cover.
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Who is Harrison Patrick Smith aka The Dare?
The Dare is a 27-year-old musician based in New York City. He reportedly produces music known under the genre “indie sleaze” and was signed by Drake and Taylor Swift’s label Republic Records in April, as per the Daily Mail. Smith reportedly worked as a fill-in teacher at a private school in the West Village until December and served as a DJ at club nights in lower Manhattan, GQ reported.
The magazine dubbed him as “the leading figure in the indie sleaze revival” after he released a two-minute track named ‘Girls’ in August 2022. “Honestly, the strange thing about ‘Girls’ is that it hasn't really exploded in a viral sense,” Smith told the publication at the time. “Compared to any viral hit, it doesn't have anywhere near as many streams. But within the first month of putting it out, there was so much attention from other musicians that I respect, and labels, and all these people. And they felt really excited in much more of a cultural way than in some sort of algorithmic way,” he added.
The outlet, which also called Smith a “downtown celebrity and burgeoning rock star,” reported that the musician was invited by Celine designer Hedi Slimane to DJ the brand’s party in Los Angeles following a fashion show called “The Age of Indieness.” Earlier this year, he sat next to Nick Cave in the front row at a Gucci runway show in Milan. On May 17, W Magazine referred to Smith as a “New York star” whose “career has already eclipsed those of many of his forebears.”
‘This is disgusting’
Smith was largely slammed on social media over the controversial cover. “This is disgusting. Imagine someone doing that out in public. They would be put in jail. Posting this kind of filth should be illegal. @elonmusk,” one tweeted. “What is wrong with you???” one asked. “This is not cool!” another commented. “Shame on you,” a fourth added.
One said, “Why are the women dressed like children and also objects for men’s pleasure? So gross” while another asked, “Are those children???? What the hell is going on here??” One commented, “I cannot even begin to explain how harmful this imagery is. You need to reconsider or risk getting mass reported/reported to the police,” and another added, “@RepublicRecords is this on your watch?” A user wrote, “Did you sell your soul...” while one mentioned, “Maybe they tried to create some „controversy“ because the music is bland, boring and uninspired.”
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