From Infinite to Kamikaze: A Novel

THE INTERVIEW - 2018 - KIM

Anderson Cooper: "How did that night start out?"

Kim: "It started out fine. My sister, a group of our friends, and I went to the show in Detroit. We went backstage first for a little while. And...there were a lot of groupies there. Marshall kept telling me they were for the rest of the guys there but..." I rolled my eyes.

Anderson Cooper: "What was your relationship with Marshall like at that point?"

Kim: "It wasn't great by any means. Things were still kind of on edge but it seemed like we were gonna try to make things work. But, he was also on tour so he wasn't around. So it's not like we were actively doing anything to make things better. We just...weren't around each other. Actually, the night before that show was the first time I'd seen him in like 3 weeks."

Anderson Cooper: "Did you guys have any time to yourselves before the show or backstage?"

Kim: "I asked to talk to him at one point backstage. I asked him about all the groupies and he reassured me that he wasn't doing anything with them. I was worried that he was gonna embarrass me in front of my sister and our friends so I asked him if he was gonna perform that song."

Anderson Cooper: "You mean the song Kim?"

I nodded.

Kim: "Yea. And he said he wasn't. He said it was never part of his set list and that he wouldn't do that to me, especially since I was there. I didn't know anything about the blow-up doll though. And he never mentioned it, which I thought was shitty. If he knew he was gonna do that, it would've been nice to have been warned."

Anderson Cooper: "So when you and your group went out to the audience, everything was fine between you two?"

I nodded again.

Kim: "Yea. At least I thought so."

Anderson Cooper: "So then what happened?"

Kim: "Um...the show was great. We were all having a great time, drinking, singing, dancing... Then he came out to do his set. After a few songs, that's when he brought the blow up doll out."

Anderson Cooper: "What did he do with it?"

Kim: "He..." I sighed. "Positioned it on himself like it was giving him a blow-job, he punched it in the face, and chucked it into the crowd where other people did their own perverted things with it and just...tossed it around."

Anderson Cooper: "What was going through your head while all this was going on?"

Kim: "Just, like... How dare he do this when he knows I'm sitting out here, you know? With our friends. And...he must really hate me to be able to disrespect me like that. It was humiliating."

Anderson Cooper: "Did people around you in the audience know who you were?"

Kim: "I think people definitely suspected. There were a lot of whispers and pointed fingers."

Anderson Cooper: "And what did your sister and friends say?"

Kim: "They said it was fucked up. And that I deserved better. They asked if I wanted to leave, and I did but...we stayed so as not to make a scene or whatever."

Anderson Cooper: "Why did you care about not making a scene after what he had just done to you?"

I shrugged.