Tech CEO caught in 'Dog controversy', says: We weren’t even there for …

Ikey Bensimhon

, the CEO of Merch.com, is facing criticism after he and a friend reportedly brought a husky to the

Outside Lands music festival

in San Francisco. A video recently posted on Reddit shows the dog looking distressed amid loud music at the event's SoMa Stage. The clip has sparked outrage online, with many users expressing concern for the dog's well-being in the high-decibel environment. The unidentified friend is reportedly the dog's owner. However, Bensimhon has confirmed that he doesn’t own a dog and that they arrived separately at the festival, where he met his friend at the venue.

What Ikey Bensimhon said about bringing a dog to a music festival

“I do not own a dog. My friend and I arrived separately and only met up later inside the festival. At no point did I assist or enable him to bring the dog. To suggest otherwise is dishonest and unfair,” Bensimhon said in a statement to the New York Post.In a previous interview with the San Francisco Standard (the first to report the incident), Bensimhon also claimed that the incident had unfairly damaged his reputation.

“It’s really frustrating how a short, out-of-context clip can create problems,” Bensimhon noted.He even denied the claims brought forward by Reddit users by clarifying that he and his friend were intoxicated in the clips that were shared online.“In reality, the clip shows the opposite [of what Redditors claim]. I was telling my friend to stop the argument and walk away. I was trying to de-escalate the situation, yet the way the article is framed makes it look like I was complicit,” he added.Bensimhon also explained that the 12-year-old husky is his friend’s “closest companion” and a certified service dog.

What Reddit users said about Bensimhon and his friend

In a 20-second clip (as seen by the New York Post), the dog owner can be seen adjusting the husky’s leash while seemingly shouting “F**k off!” at someone nearby. In a separate clip, the same man can be seen jumping and dancing to the music, although the Reddit user who shared it seemed to be more concerned about the dog.The caption on the first video read, “Poor baby,” accompanied by a dog emoji and a teary-eyed sad face emoji, the report noted. Meanwhile, the Reddit user who uploaded the second video wrote: “This poor dog got dragged by its owner to OSL. I don’t know how it even got into the venue but it was clearly miserable.”He also noted that the dog’s owner “started calling everyone Karens after he got called out.”“He was apparently rough with her and kicked her to stay down at one point,” the Reddit user alleged.Other Reddit users slammed the pair as “dog abusers,” accusing them of pulling harshly on the leash, holding the animal down, and mocking critics by calling them “Karens.”