The family of Graham Sierota have released a statement revealing that the Echosmith drummer is autistic.
The move comes after news broke of the 20-year-old's direct messages on Instagram to Travis Barker‘s 13-year-old daughter Alabama, which the Blink-182 rocker deemed “predatory behaviour.”
Now, the Sierota family said in a statement to People that Graham was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder as a child, and has "difficulty understanding social cues.”
“We have never publicly addressed this in the past, but given the events of the last few days, we feel compelled to speak out now to offer some additional context and insight into the unfortunate misunderstandings that occurred and clear up the deeply hurtful mischaracterisations of Graham,” they added.
They went on to explain that Graham had used social media to invite several “athletes, musicians, artists, and models” to a holiday party at their home one Christmas.
“We understand that his interactions were misinterpreted and misunderstood in the confusing world of social media, and we are deeply sorry. Graham certainly never meant to make anyone feel uncomfortable," the Sierotas continued.
The statement - from Graham's bandmate siblings Sydney, 22, and Noah, 23, and their parents – concludes by saying that the drummer will be taking a break from social media.
Graham himself apologised in a statement on Thursday, and Alabama has since forgiven the drummer, and asked for the furore over his behaviour to end. “I forgive him and would like for this all to be over," the teen said on her Instagram Stories.
