Victoria Canal Claims Michael Franti’s Abuse “Plagued My Body, Spirit, and Mind”

Content Warning: This article mentions allegations of sexual abuse, mental abuse, and grooming.

Musician Michael Franti is known for tapping into his creativity to make multiple musical and human-connecting events during his career. The Michael Franti & Spearhead frontman made a career for himself with his feel-good songs like 2008 hit single “Say Hey (I Love You)” and his 2001 single, "Soulshine." The latter was the inspiration for his once-promising event, Soulshine at Sea.

Although Michael's persona earned him a significant and loyal following, he made headlines for an utterly different reason in 2025. A musical peer accused him of grooming her while he was married. Here's what to know about his allegations and backlash.

Michael's allegations began in August 2025 when singer Victoria Canal claimed he abused and groomed her during the start of her music career. On Aug. 11, Victoria, who was featured on Michael Franti & Spearhead's 2019 track, "The Flower," shared an Instagram post discussing how Michael allegedly started the abuse shortly after he discovered her. She stated the abuse began when she was 19.

"This is something I've never spoken about publicly, and have been holding for eight years now," the lengthy message began. "It has plagued my body, spirit, and mind, in subliminal and overt ways, for my entire 20s."

Victoria added that a "very powerful, decades-older man plucked me out of the internet, and college, and invited me on my first professional opportunity." She also revealed that she chose to come forward with the allegations after a stranger allegedly assaulted her she came in contact with at a rehearsal space. In the rest of the post, Victoria, who never named her abuser, said he portrayed himself as a "family man" in the public, but he was manipulative and verbally abusive during their affair.

"At the time, this person made me believe I was that: No one else wanted me; He was my only safe person, and he truly 'loved' me; If I ever told anyone what he was doing, my career would be over before it even started," Victoria wrote in the sixth slide of her post.

Victoria's post also claimed the abusive relationship between her and Michael "lasted a little over a year," though it caused a "years-long effect on my intimate life." She then shared in the post's caption that she was proud of herself for sharing her truth in such a vulnerable way.

"This statement is a gift to myself," Victoria wrote.

Once her post circulated, the singer shared on Instagram how Carla Swanson, who worked alongside Michael at SoulShine events, wrote that she allegedly had a similar story to tell about Michael, but claimed he "forced me to sign an NDA. Twice." In screenshots of texts between them, Swanson also stated her abusive relationship with Michael also began when she was 19, and said he allegedly sexually harassed one of her friends during a studio session. She then called him a "master manipulator and user," and compared him to "narcissistic" President Donald Trump.

"I was not planning on following up on my statement up with any other statements of my own, because I am so happy to feel free of this and move on with my life," Victoria said of the alleged survivors' statement. "I also feel like the person who groomed me doesn’t deserve so much real estate on my page. However, after hearing many stories about the same person, I feel a responsibility (and have been asked by some who approached me) to share on these victims’ behalf. I have permission from everyone here to share these screenshots with you, including the name mentioned."

While Victoria didn't explicitly name Michael as her alleged abuser, his business moves were affected following her social media posts. On Aug. 17, Soulshine at Sea, the event he was slated to headline in November 2025, announced via Instagram that it was canceled.

"In light of recent events, the Soulshine at Sea with Michael Franti event scheduled for November 4-8, 2025, is cancelled," the post read. "We are actively working to announce a new event that will sail November 4-8, 2025."

According to NME, while Soulshine didn’t specify why the four-day cruise was canceled, it came in the wake of Michael's abuse allegations. Additionally, Tank and the Bangas, who signed on to join Michael and his band, Spearhead, on tour, announced they canceled their upcoming tour dates with him.

"While we are not aware of any specific details related to the matter, in light of the recent post made about the artist, we have made the difficult decision not to participate,” the band wrote.

After Tank and the Bangas dropped out of the tour, Michael responded to Victoria's post and claimed he had been involved in a “romantic relationship” outside his marriage with an artist he worked with. However, he vehemently denied that the relationship was abusive.

"I’m aware of the recent posts this artist made about our relationship, and while I support her need to express herself publicly, the relationship was completely consensual, based on mutual feelings and attraction,” Michael wrote. "I vehemently dispute any version of the story that says otherwise. I will however, take full accountability for not better recognizing the power imbalance as she was younger than me, and I was the headliner on tour,” he added. “For those reasons alone, I never should have allowed the relationship to become romantic.”