Artist and model Aviva Maï has accused comics writer and artist Cameron Stewart, best known for his run as co-writer on Batgirl, of grooming her as a teenager. According to tweets posted by Maï on Twitter earlier this week, she met Stewart when she was 16 and he was in his early 30s. She said they flirted via text and went on one date in 2009, then stayed in contact for some time after.
“We met when I was 16 and he was in his 30s. Maybe 32? It was 2009,” Maï tweeted. “We flirted by text and went on one date. In 2009. When I was 16. We stayed ‘friends’ for a long time after that and he’d sometimes text to say that he was sad he missed his chance to date me. A couple really uncomfortable times.”
She continued, “Took me a long time to realize what had actually happened, what he was doing, and that we were never actually friends. I’m only posting this because he’s worked on a lot of comics directly aimed at young girls and women, and I want them to know what kind of person he is. It’s never felt like ‘a good time’ to say this because there isn’t one, but I’m saying it anyway. That’s it. Now you know.”
Following Maï’s initial statements, cartoonist and writer Kate Leth tweeted, “I just want to back Aviva up by saying ‘this happened to me, too.’ I still have the drawing of Death he drew me on a piece of hotel stationary. I was 19. He was 32.” Actress Natasha Negovanlis added that she has “similar stories” about him she doesn’t “feel comfortable sharing publicly at this time.”
Former convention organizer Andrea Demonakos tweeted that in the Toronto comics community, where Stewart is based, “it was widely known that Cameron Stewart was a predator, and he’d basically been chased out of town after pissing off too many people. I’ve warned women away from him, multiple times.” Demonakos added that prior to Maï’s tweets, she had not heard about his alleged predation of underage girls.
Leth quote-tweeted Demonakos’ statement and added, “He LITERALLY MOVED TO BERLIN because he burned through all the girls in Montreal/Toronto. He said this! To me!!!!”
At time of writing, Stewart has locked his Twitter and Instagram accounts. As people began to share tweets and stories, Maï encouraged followers to donate to non-profits that help vulnerable women, the Trans Women of Color Collective, National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network, the Okra Project and Power to Decide.
If you are a U.S.-based victim of sexual assault or misconduct in need of help, contact RAINN at 800-656-4673 to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. If you are based outside the U.S., click here for a list of international sexual assault resources
