British musician and broadcaster Yung Filly charged with rape and assault

Yung Filly, the British rapper, YouTuber, and TV personality, has been taken into custody in Australia and faces charges of rape and assault.

The 29-year-old, whose name is Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was visiting the country when he was apprehended in Brisbane. He was then transported to Perth, where the supposed incidents took place.

He is charged with attacking a woman in a hotel room following a nightclub performance on September 27. He is facing four charges of sexual penetration without consent, three charges of assault, and an additional charge for restricting someone's breathing or circulation by putting pressure on their neck.

During the hearing at the magistrate court, the prosecutors showed pictures of the woman's injuries. Barrientos was present but only said a few words to confirm his identity and acknowledge the allegations made against him.

Law enforcement claimed that he might attempt to flee and could interfere with witnesses, but he was released on bail with specific conditions. He is required to remain in Western Australia, avoid discussing the case on social media, and not communicate with the person making the allegations.

As reported by ABC Australia, during the hearing, Barrientos's attorney challenged the validity of the evidence presented by the prosecution.

Barrientos was born in Colombia and relocated to South London when he was a young child. He started his broadcasting journey on YouTube, where his comedic sketches caught the eye of BBC commissioning editors. This led to him being hired to host the dating show Hot Property in 2019.

The next year, he launched the BBC reality game show Don’t Scream and gained a massive following with the rise of TikTok, attracting 3.2 million followers there, in addition to his 1.8 million YouTube subscribers. He is also recognized for co-hosting a successful podcast with fellow YouTuber Chunkz called The Chunkz and Filly Show.

In addition to creating videos across various platforms, he has also pursued a music career as a rapper and singer since 2017. His joint single with Chunkz, titled "Hold," made it into the UK Top 30 in 2020. More recently, his song "Grey" spent nine weeks on the charts and garnered 63 million streams on Spotify, where he has over 2 million monthly listeners.