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A Mainer who advocates for survivors of domestic violence on Tuesday criticized President Joe Biden for inviting her ex-husband, singer Don McLean, to a state dinner at the White House last week that was also attended by Gov. Janet Mills.
Patrisha McLean founded Finding Our Voices, a group that supports victims of domestic abuse, after her ex-husband was accused in 2016 of assaulting her at their Camden home. A plea deal the following year did not land him in jail. She paid $3,600 to end the highly publicized case, and Patrisha McLean has a 10-year restraining order against her ex-husband.
The singer, famous for his 1971 hit “American Pie,” was among the notable guests at last Thursday’s state dinner that Biden and first lady Jill Biden hosted for Kenyan President William Ruto and his wife. Ruto was the first Kenyan president to visit the White House in two decades. It was the first state visit by the leader of an African country since 2008.
“Shame on President Biden for conveying to Kenya and the rest of the world that domestic abusers are welcome in the White House and that victims of domestic abuse do not matter in the United States,” Patrisha McLean said in an emailed statement. on Tuesday.
Patrisha McLean, domestic violence awareness advocate and founder of the non-profit organization Finding Our Voices, in front of an art mosaic on the windows of Belfast City Hall in June 2021. Credit: Abigail Curtis/BDN
During the case and afterward, Don McLean insisted he never assaulted his ex-wife. The more serious charge of domestic violence assault was dropped under the terms of a deferred disposition agreement that was part of the plea agreement with Maine prosecutors.
He aggressively defended himself in public, threatening a local newspaper in 2019 over coverage of a Finding Our Voices exhibit. After his adult daughter told Rolling Stone in 2021 that he subjected her to mental and emotional abuse, he told The Daily Mail that he disinherited her from her.
In a statement Tuesday sent by his publicist, Don McLean criticized his ex-wife as a “#MeToo scammer” but did not address her attendance at the state dinner.
Gov. Mills, a Democrat who has said she was abused by a boyfriend when she was young, was also among the guests. Mills has supported the work of Finding Our Voices, posing for a portrait for an advertising campaign featuring survivors and signing laws aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence and restricting the early release of abusers from county jails.
His office did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment on Don McLean’s attendance at the state dinner. White House spokespeople also did not respond to a request for comment on Patrisha McLean’s criticism of Biden.
BDN writer Charlie Eichacker contributed to this report.
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