According to multiple reports, Bad Wolves vocalist Tommy Vext has been accused of assault by his ex-girlfriend, fitness model and personal trainer Whitney Johns.
In a number of court documents obtained by MetalSucks, Johns alleges that Vext assaulted her numerous times “both during and after the relationship.” Johns claims that the Bad Wolves frontman hit her in the face with enough force to draw blood, dragged her by the hair, and put her in a chokehold for a sufficient amount of time that she nearly lost consciousness, amongst other allegations.
She went on to say that Vext “knows where I live and I am terrified for my life,” alleging that he has threatened to kill her more than once verbally.
In addition to temporarily filling in for Five Finger Death Punch vocalist Ivan Moody during a tour of Europe in 2017, Vext has also front the bands; Snot, The Westfield Massacre and Divine Heresy. The Bad Wolves frontman was fired from Divine Heresy in 2008 after allegedly assaulting the band’s guitarist Dino Cazares and his wife at the time, Jennifer Pagen Cazares.
The fitness model and personal trainer filed for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order against Vext on the 17th April 2020. According to those documents obtained by MetalSucks, Johns says that she and Vext dated for nine months and lived together for two weeks.
During their time together, both Vext and Johns appeared in a number of videos for Omax Health, which self describes itself as “a science based, health and wellness company focused on developing premium quality nutraceuticals”.Vext has praised Johns’ skills as a trainer on Bad Wolves’ social media profiles at least once in the past, although it wasn’t known whether their relationship was romantic at the time.
Johns has citied four specific incidents when she says Vext assaulted her:
On the 1st January 2020, Johns alleges Vext “struck [her] in the face hard enough that [she] cut the inside of her lip and her nose and [her] lips were bleeding profusely.” She claims that Vext than took her to her home, “refused to leave her residence, then chocked her as he verbally threatened to kill her.” Johns’ “lips were swollen and bruised for the next three days and she was forced for the next three days and she was forced to cancel all client meetings as a result.”
Johns claims that Vext hit her in the face again on the 14th January.
On the 29th February, Johns alleges that as she was preparing for a photo shoot, she got into an argument with Vext, during which the Bad Wolves frontman threw water on her face – twice. When she “instinctively scratched [Vext] in self-defense,” he became angrier and then “tackled her to the ground, put his hands around her neck, and choked her while slamming her head into the ground [for] ten to fifteen seconds,” nearly rendering her unconscious. Following this incident, Johns went to stay with her mother in Utah, “as she feared for her life, and missed a week’s worth of work appointments as a result.”
This marked the end of her romantic relationship with Vext, according to Johns.
The final incident is said to have taken place on the 11th April 2020. According to Johns’ attorney, Vext “choked [Johns], dragged her by the hair, and put her in a chokehold until she almost lost consciousness”:
“On April l0, 2020, [Vext] called [Johns] and stated that he wanted to kill himself and begged her to come to his residence. Feeling guilty and concerned, [Johns] went to [Vext’s] residence to console him. The parties watched a movie and [Johns] stayed overnight; the parties were not intimate.
On April l1, 2020, [Vext] asked [Johns] why they could not resume their dating relationship. [Johns] attempted to leave [Vext’s] residence but he blocked the door and stated he wanted to finish the conversation with her. [Vext] is 6’ 1” tall and approximately 260 pounds.
When [Johns] attempted to calm [Vext], he mentioned a male friend of [Johns’] and lunged at her. She fell off the couch where she was sitting as [Vext] began to choke her. [Johns] screamed as the windows were open and she hoped that the neighbors would hear her. [Vext] then grabbed [Johns] by the hair and dragged her into his bedroom where he placed her in a chokehold.
[Johns] almost lost consciousness when [Vext] appeared to realize what he was doing and let her go. [Johns] quickly collected her belongings and left the residence. [Vext] left visible finger marks on [Johns’] neck, and bruises on her chin and neck. [Johns] suffered from swollen knots on her head and had neck pain for several days after the incident.
[Johns] immediately went to the local police station which was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic but called the police who responded with paramedics. The police went to [Vext’s] residence but he had left; when they called [Vext], he stated that he was with his lawyer. An Emergency Protective Order was issued on April 11, 2020 due to this incident, but it could not be served to [Vext] as he could not be located.”
The court documents added:
“In addition to these incidents, [Vext] has threatened to have [Johns] killed, ‘send people after’ her, get her Instagram account, which is a critical part of her business, deleted, and otherwise ‘delete’ her. [Vext] has also left disparaging comments on [Johns’] Instagram account, which is visible to to her clients, potential Clients and business partners, and fans. (See Exhibit 5: [Vext’s] Comments on Petitioner’s Instagram Account.) Moreover, [Vext] stated to [Johns] that he has a friend in the Los Angeles Police Department who will quash any reports made against [Vext]. Finally, when the couple were dating, they made video recordings of themselves having sex. Respondent has threatened to release those recordings to the wider public.”
Evidence submitted in support of the above claims include time-stamped images of Johns injuries, an email from Vext in which he allegedly “admitted to ‘setting off a nuke’ on social media and then deleting comments, because they were made in poor taste and much more [find out more about the evidence here].
Johns request for the restraining order was granted partly, with her “request to stop posting on social media and not to disseminate personal info” denied for being “potentially overboard.” The terms of the restraining order stated that Vext could neither contact nor come within 100 yards of Johns.
A hearing was set for the 8th May initially but was delayed multiple times due to both the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and requests from Vext’s attorney. The hearing finally took place on the 17th November.
On the 3rd November, Johns’ attorney filed a motion to dismiss the testimony of another personal trainer for being “irrelevant [and] based on hearsay.”
Following the hearing on the 17th November, Johns’ attorney filed another brief claiming that Vext’s attorney “erroneously reported to the court that there had been ex-parte communication by Counsel for [Johns] with the Court.” This essentially means that Johns legal team had private communication with the judge to which Vext’s legal team were not privy.
Had there been any ex-parte communication, it could have been considered a violation of ethics that may have forced the judge to recuse themselves and lead to disciplinary action against Johns’ attorney.
The next hearing is scheduled for today, Wednesday 9th December. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.
UPDATE: We have received a statement via the band’s label regarding the allegations against Tommy Vext:
“The allegations made against me by my former girlfriend are not true. Given the ongoing civil dispute between us, I am not at liberty to say any more at this time. I look forward to resolving this matter in court.”
H/T MetalSucks, Loudwire