In recent years, having a song blow up on TikTok can both catapult new artist’s careers and introduce Gen Z to others they may have missed due to their young age, such as the icon Kate Bush who’s having a resurgence on the app since the kids discovered “Wuthering Heights.”
But for Maroon 5’s frontman, Adam Levine, who no doubt would’ve woken up yesterday to a lot of notifications, unfortunately, he — and his band — are trending for all the wrong reasons.
The drama started when a TikTok posted by Instagram model Sumner Stroh went viral. In it, Stroh claims Levine recently DM’d her to ask if he could name his new baby “Sumner” after her. How lovely, right? Wrong! Stroh claims in the video that she had an affair with “a man who’s married to a Victoria’s Secret model,” going on to say that the man in question is Levine, who’s married to and shares two children with model Behati Prinsloo. And who everyone knows by his band Maroon 5, which Stroh says is “practically elevator music now.” Ouch.
“Maroon 5 is practically elevator music at this point,” Stroh says. “So, I’m sure you know who Adam Levine is. Adam and I were seeing each other for about a year, after I stopped talking to him over a period of months, this is how he came back into my life.”
This is where the Instagram DMs come into play. Stroh shares a screenshot showing an alleged message from Levine, which she says the musician sent her months after they stopped seeing each other. “Ok serious question. I’m having another baby and if it’s a boy I really wanna name it Sumner. You okay with that? DEAD serious,” he appears to have written, followed by a single shrugging emoji.
@sumnerstroh embarrassed I was involved w a man with this utter lack of remorse and respect. #greenscreen
Stroh alleges that when the affair began, she was “young,” “naïve” and “easily manipulated,” adding, “quite frankly, I feel exploited.” Stroh is currently 23 while Levine is 43.
Adding she wasn’t planning on sharing any of this publicly, Stroh goes on to explain she “sent some screenshots recklessly to a few friends I thought I trusted, and one of them had attempted to sell to a tabloid—so here I am.”
adam levine is a cheater and he wanted to name his son after his mistress???!!! STRAIGHT TO HELL 😭 pic.twitter.com/sSs7eg43s8
— c. (@aesparoyco) September 19, 2022
On Tuesday morning, Levine denied the affair allegations but did say he “crossed a line” in an Instagram Story writing, “A lot is being said about me right now and I want to clear the air. I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner. I did not have an affair, nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period in my life. In certain instances it became inappropriate; I have addressed that and taken proactive steps to remedy this with my family.”
He continued, “My wife and my family is all I care about in this world. To be this naive and stupid enough to risk the only thing that truly matters to me was the greatest mistake I could ever make. I will never make it again. I take full responsibility. We will get through it. And we will get through it together.”
Levine and Prinsloo recently announced that they’re expecting their third child. After this, we’re guessing it likely won’t be named Sumner, after all.
