Thomas Middleditch named as a predator in the closing of goth club Cloak & Dagger

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In LA, there’s a famous bar called the Pig ‘N Whistle. And nearly as famous as the bar is the halfway secret nightclub in the backrooms of the bar, the Cloak & Dagger. The Cloak & Dagger is known as an underground Goth club, invitation-only, for people within the LA Goth community or, as it turns out, random famous people and predators. The Cloak & Dagger has now closed amid a wave of accusations of predatory behavior from guests. Guests like Thomas Middleditch, the guy who announced in Playboy in 2019 that he and his wife were “swingers,” and it turned out that “swinging” was just an excuse for Middleditch to sleep with other women and act disgusting to other women (his wife left him less than a year after that Playboy interview). Here’s more from the LA Times:

Hannah Harding parted a thick wooden gate and walked into the barely lit labyrinth of the Hollywood club Cloak & Dagger on Oct. 22, 2019. An evening at the Goth club, where a cast of experimental artists performed eerie, sexually charged ceremonies each week in the back rooms of the Pig ’N Whistle bar, was a coveted invitation: an uninhibited, LGBTQ-friendly, members-only club where underground DJs, actors, rockers and adventurous partygoers could revel in safety and secrecy.

The scene felt a little spooky, but that was part of the appeal for the then-21-year-old. As the party ramped up in the main “black room,” actor Thomas Middleditch, best known for his role as Richard Hendricks on the HBO series “Silicon Valley,” approached Harding on the dance floor, she said. He’d met Harding at the club before. Staff had brought concerns about his behavior to co-founders Adam Bravin and Michael Patterson.

Harding said Middleditch made lewd sexual overtures toward her and her girlfriend. She turned him down, but he kept pursuing her, groping her in front of her friends and several employees, including the club’s operations manager, Kate Morgan. Morgan said she asked her bosses to kick Middleditch out and ban him, but they didn’t seem to take it seriously.

“I felt like they dismissed it,” she said. “I told Adam that he needed to listen, that this was not OK.” Harding has Instagram direct messages from Middleditch, seen by The Times, saying, “Hannah I had no idea my actions were that weird for you … I know you probably want to just put me on blast as a monster … I don’t expect you to want to be my friend or anything … I am so ashamed I made you uncomfortable.”

Ten women, including four former employees, told The Times that Bravin and Patterson — prominent artists in L.A.’s rock and electronic music scenes — ignored sexual misconduct among members at Cloak and at its festivals. They allege that the owners took cover under the club’s secrecy and boundary-pushing aesthetic, until a Zoom call in June, when members unloaded on Bravin and Patterson about how they’d been treated.

Some staff and regulars said Cloak used its Goth allure as a front. “Michael said he wanted to have a ‘real cult,’” Morgan, 37, said of her three years working at the club. “We all felt complicit but realized we’d been duped as well.”

Harding said that after she complained, she saw Middleditch grope another woman in the club. She said Bravin did reach out a week later, only to tell her she must have been mistaken about the incident. “Adam called me ‘to make sure and get a second opinion on him’ because they didn’t trust my story in the first place. They cared more about famous people at their club than women’s safety,” Harding said.

[From The LA Times]

I’m getting an absolutely horrible feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is just what one woman experienced during the few times she was there. It was probably so much worse than we know. Also, the LAT name-checks Marilyn Manson this way: “Libertinism was an accepted part of the culture, though the scene has begun reckoning with sexual abuse accusations against Goth’s most famous figure, Marilyn Manson.” Manson is accused of raping, abusing and torturing multiple women and he did so under the guise of being goth and “controversial” (and perhaps a “libertine”). How many times did Manson hunt for victims at the Cloak & Dagger? As for Middleditch… what a disgusting man. Ugh.

Thomas Middleditch at Sierra Club's 125th Anniversary Trail Blazers Ball

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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22 Responses to “Thomas Middleditch named as a predator in the closing of goth club Cloak & Dagger”

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  1. Merricat says:

    Middleditch is really an asshole.

  2. lascivious chicken says:

    Was so hoping you’d post about this! Here we all saw this coming a mile away.

    • Emm says:

      Yup! We all knew, yet another story of a mediocre white dude who’s disgusting and pathetic and thinks he owns women. I didn’t like it when the playboy interview came out but even more so now but I do not like his friendship and working relationship with Ben Schwartz who I love.

      • Ally says:

        I HATE this about Ben and it makes me so sad and disappointed! Like absolutely devastated.

  3. Aimee says:

    My feeling at the time of that Playboy interview was that this guy got famous after his wedding and then decided he wanted to be able to sleep with as many women who would have him but Oops! He was married. So he talked her into some swinging lifestyle that she clearly never wanted and was out within a year. Jerk.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      yup.

      “I know you stuck with me when I was a dorky nobody and no women would look at me and I was trying to get my scripts sold, but hey, now that I’m famous you should let me go bang anything with a pulse. What, no good?”

  4. Savu says:

    Since that Playboy interview, we knew. Of course we didn’t KNOW exactly what was going on. But we knew something was wrong. And that’s from women who are reading about it online. Can you imagine the gutteral fear you get when you have to get that feeling in person, from first-person experience?

  5. Ann says:

    He has a show on CBS that I see ads for when I watch Young Sheldon. The show looks bad in general but this confirmed creepy perv having a prime time network show elevates the grossness. The show is after Young Sheldon which means people at CBS want it do well. I hope it gets canceled in a hurry but CBS is almost as bad as NBC when it comes to accommodating predators so I’ll believe it when I see it.

    • Persephone says:

      I’ve watched this show “B Positive” I think it’s called. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. He plays the lead, and a super uptight character. I actually think the supporting actors/characters are better than him, tbh.

    • Rose says:

      I was appalled when I saw his promo on cbs. It looks ridiculous and I never would’ve watched it anyway. But to know cbs is complicit angers me.

  6. Jensies says:

    Guys who think they are “good guys” are the worst sexual predators.

    • sassafras says:

      Can confirm. That IG DM sounded exactly like something my ex would say – “I know you probably don’t want to be my friend after I made you fear for your life. It was never my intention to have you call the police. I only respect you and love spending time with you.”

      F**kers.

  7. Drea says:

    The fricking complicity!

    Not that I should be surprised, but it’s disgusting. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but was not once, not ever, told no by the multitudes of people watching his actions.

    Even if deep down he knew it was wrong (he did), everyone in charge gave him a pass, and in doing so, reiterated that what he was doing was somehow acceptable. THIS is how rape culture thrives.

    F* all these people.

  8. FancyHat says:

    Ew. He has always skeeved me out

  9. whateveryousay says:

    So frustrated on behalf of these women. What in the world? I don’t care if you have some “goth” ascetic it doesn’t mean you should be allowed to touch anyone without their permission.

  10. Anastasia says:

    First of all, personal experience, every dude I’ve met named Thomas has committed at least one act of sexual assault. Just Saying.

    Second of all, who is this dude? I’ve heard of Silicon Valley, but I’ve never heard of him. I wonder if we’re going to start seeing a lot of these C and D list celebrities (like Armie Hammer and Manson) being exposed and held accountable for for their actions.

  11. Starkille says:

    Hey Ben Schwartz, now would be a great time to FINALLY disassociate yourself from this pervert.

  12. Izzy says:

    That DM sounds like what every textbook “nice guy” would write after they get called out for being a creep. They must have their own instruction book for this crap.

  13. Coji says:

    I’m not he slightest bit shocked. He has always pinged my creep radar.

  14. HeyJude says:

    Pig & Whistle is actually a famous restaurant! Which is kind gross knowing this all was going on in the place at nights.

    I’m glad I stick to Musso & Frank’s across the street.

  15. guilty pleasures says:

    Ah crap. I hoped that Nerdy McNerdster was an actual nice guy. He is from a tiny town in BC, Nelson- not too far from me. I saw him on either Seth M or Stephen C and the interview was endearing. And I like(d) B Positive, but mainly for the female lead.