What the “Eat Sleep Rape Repeat” Shirt at Coachella Says About Rape Culture at Music Festivals

Over the weekend, my THUMP co-worker Jemayel Khawaja tweeted a photo of a guy at Coachella wearing a shirt that says “Eat Sleep Rape Repeat.” The dude is grinning widely and throwing deuces, looking thoroughly satisfied with himself. This nauseating celebration of rape culture combined with his unabashed smugness set off a Twitter firestorm, which turned into a viral tornado show once the picture hit Buzzfeed, Jezebel, and beyond.

Some outlets have speculated that the T-shirt was photoshopped—it wasn’t.

I called Jemayel as he travelled back to Los Angeles and got the full context behind that now-infamous photo: “I was en route to grab a drink at the Sahara Tent beer garden when I saw the guy. I did a double-take and figured I had to document him somehow. He seemed really stoked about it when I asked to take a picture, thus the peace sign and cheeseball smile.”

“Believe it or not, he had a girl with him. She seemed really exasperated by the whole thing, and he gave her this look when I asked to take the picture that suggested he felt vindicated for wearing it,” he added.