Ivy shared that the public has “received a mischaracterization of what occurred” because she set out to “have the responsibility placed on me in an attempt to protect the leaders who work for Orange from what I knew would be a devastating revelation.”
Ivy believes that “mischaracterization” will make it “more difficult for other victims to safely share their story and receive the care and healing they deserve.”
Ivy also said that Orange will never be “truly free” of what has been “lurking in the shadows” until the entire truth is told.
“I am beginning to face the difficult reality that it is for everyone’s best interest (including Reggie’s) that we cease to protect abuse in the name of protecting Orange, and begin to walk in the light of truth,” Ivy said.
Ivy then provided an amendment to her “previous statement”:
I believe you were able to see—even before I was able to name it—that the nature of the relationship between Reggie and myself was not truly capable of having meaningful consent. What I said was true, that the relationship between Reggie and myself was inappropriate, but I am now aware that this is not the best framing for understanding the nature of what took place. The truth is that Reggie has repeatedly abused his power and used it to gain access to vulnerable, often very young women, slowly crossing boundaries, isolating them, and eventually coercing them into agreeing to the abuse. The very nature of these relationships is to confuse a victim into believing what is happening is consensual, and it can take years of separation from the abuser for the victim to recognize the abuse. I have been separated from Reggie for less than a week, but I am aware that these patterns are abusive and not consensual.
Ivy provided “core truths” of her and Joiner’s relationship that explain why she believes it was abuse.
RELATED: T.D. Jakes Mentioned in Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
“When the relationship was sexualized, I was a ‘director’ and he was the CEO and there was/is a twenty-year age difference between us,” she said. Ivy added that she “tried to resign multiple times in order to get out of the situation, but I could only submit that resignation to Reggie and he refused to accept it.”
“Both my husband’s and my income was at risk if I were to speak openly,” she added. Ivy’s husband, Matt, also worked for Orange.
Ivy further claimed, “Reggie frequently told me that speaking about this with a counselor, friend, family member, or anyone else would risk ‘the security of the company,’ ‘the employment of my friends,’ and would ‘devastate’ people I cared most about.”
Ivy again apologized to Orange’s board for “misrepresenting” her relationship with Joiner and said that as she has been able to process a reality that she has lived with for “well over a decade,” she has come to the conclusion that her initial response “was a trauma response that is common for someone escaping an abusive relationship.”
