The Football Association has decided to pull an online cookery series with Yung Filly after his arrest over an alleged sexual assault.
The 29-year-old rapper and YouTuber, real name Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was arrested in Brisbane and extradited to Perth on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the social media star announced new series Freestyle Cooking with the FA as part of the organisation’s Greater Game campaign.
The campaign was launched with sponsor M&S Food to promote healthy eating for children aged between 12 and 16.
England footballers Jarrod Bowen, Bukayo Saka and Ezri Konsa were set to feature in the series on the FA’s social media platforms.
The series would also have appeared on Filly’s Instagram and TikTok channels, while the FA initially chose him to ‘encourage young people up and down the country to experiment with cooking healthy alternatives’.
However, Metro.co.uk understands that English football’s governing body reacted quickly after news of his arrest, and pulled the series along with all related promotional material.
Barrientos is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s in his Perth hotel room on September 28 after a performance at nightclub Bar120 in Hillarys on the night of September 27.
He has been charged with four counts of sexual penetration without consent, and three counts of assault.
And he has also been charged with one count of impeding a person’s normal breathing or circulation by applying pressure to their neck.
Barrientos was granted bail today at Perth Magistrates Court but will have to remain in Perth until December 19 when he will appear in court.
It has also been reported that strict conditions of his bail include that he is banned from contacting the alleged victim and is prohibited from posting on social media about the case to his 3.2 million followers.
ABC Australia has reported that the rapper is being defended by Perth barrister Seamus Rafferty SC.
After applying for bail, the application was opposed by police prosecutor Julius Depetro, who told Rafferty: ‘This has already made headlines… Given the nature of social media, the nature of people jumping on bandwagons, given the nature of (the) power imbalance between the parties.’
Rafferty said if bail was not granted, Barrientos could be facing two years in Perth’s Hakea maximum security prison, which reportedly has frequent 23-hour rolling lockdowns and specialist ‘punishment units’ which have been described by the state regulator as ‘outdated and not fit for purpose’.
The barrister highlighted that his client would be facing this along with ‘social isolation’ in Perth.
Yung Filly has been in the public eye since his YouTube channel began in 2013. In 2017 he then embarked upon a music career.
He has since released a host of singles including Grey, which reached number 31 on the official UK charts, Day to Day and Take Time, while his latest track Tempted was released in August.
The YouTuber has had mainstream success and appeared on several TV shows including The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C and BBC’s Would I Lie To You?, while he is also known for hosting his popular podcast with longtime collaborator Chunkz.
Victim Support
Victim Support offers support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse. You can contact them on 0333 300 6389.
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