Rapper Slowthai has been cleared of raping two women at a house party following one of his gigs in Oxford three years ago.
The Grammy-winning 29-year-old, whose real name is Tyron Frampton, had been standing trial at Oxford Crown Court alongside his friend Alex Blake-Walker, 27.
Both were cleared of three joint charges of rape against two women, and Blake-Walker was also cleared of an additional charge of sexual assault against the second complainant.
The jury came back with their verdict after more than 10 hours of deliberation, following a two-week trial in which it was alleged the two defendants assaulted two women in the early hours of 8 September 2021.
Frampton burst into tears as jurors delivered their verdicts, while his wife, singer Anne-Marie, sighed in relief.
Judge Ian Pringle KC acknowledged the level of emotion in the courtroom, telling the court this case has “raised a lot of high feelings”.
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Frampton had performed at The Bullingdon music venue in the city on the evening of 7 September 2021, where he met the two complainants, one of whom the court had heard was a “huge fan” of his.
After the show, the complainants had returned to Frampton’s tour bus, before heading to a friend’s house party, accompanied by Frampton and Blake-Walker.
It was at this house party the women had alleged they were raped on an outside roof.
Frampton and Blake-Walker both agreed that sexual activity took place with the complainants on the night of the alleged assaults, but said it was consensual.
In his evidence to the jury, the rapper said the allegations brought up against him were “just not true” and that the women were “lying”.
Frampton accepted that he and Blake-Walker had “fist-bumped” at the time but denied this was encouraging each other.
The Northampton-born performer, who was nominated for a Grammy in 2021 and a Mercury prize in 2019, was removed from the Glastonbury, Leeds and Reading festival line-up after being charged last year.
The court had previously heard that a backlog of cases had caused a delay between Frampton’s arrest and charge, which came when he was in New York for a magazine shoot.
Both Frampton and Blake-Walker walked free from the dock after the judge told them they were able to go. Frampton, who walked from the court with his wife, declined to comment on the verdicts.
Frampton married singer Anne-Marie in 2022 in Las Vegas. The couple have a 10-month-old daughter. He also has a two-year-old son with his ex-partner, Russian singer and model Katya Kischuk.
