The parents of Gibson Iron Eyes — a Standing Rock activist who Ezra Miller met when Gibson was 12 — are seeking a protective order on behalf of the now-18-year-old, according to documents obtained by Rolling Stone. Gibson’s parents claim their child is facing mental health struggles, is being groomed and controlled by Miller, and that the actor gave them a high dose of LSD earlier this year.
In documents filed at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court on Tuesday, Gibson’s parents — Chase Iron Eyes and Sara Jumping Eagle — filed a petition for a restraining order on behalf of Gibson in an attempt to have their child returned to their care after they were successfully awarded temporary guardianship over Gibson late last month. Miller is now required to appear before the South Dakota court on July 12. If Miller fails to appear, the restraining order will be granted.
“If [they] were of [their] right mind and just making jacked-up decisions, I would be like, ‘OK, you have to learn the hard way,’ ” Jumping Eagle tells Rolling Stone about Gibson. (The activist now goes by “Gibson” over their birth name.) “But [they’re] not only having mental health issues, but there’s a predator taking advantage of [them] at the same time.”
In an email to Rolling Stone Wednesday night, Gibson denied allegations that they were being controlled by the Flash actor. “The notion that I have been brainwashed or that I’ve been coerced in any context is grotesquely false,” Gibson wrote. “My independence from my family in this way is new and complex, their reaction to my actions is not my responsibility, [and I’ve] tried to have civil virtual interactions with both of them and failed.”
Gibson continued by calling their parents’ concern “blatantly insulting” and shared that “Ezra and our crew” will speak about their story “when we see fit.”
“For media outlets and the public to believe and sensationalize my parents’ claims is a gruesome violation of my dignity and Ezra’s,” Gibson wrote, before thanking those who are “making efforts to support, not undermine, my autonomy.” (Lawyers for Miller did not reply to repeated requests for comment.)
According to Gibson’s parents, the activist and Miller developed a friendship when Gibson was a tween and Miller was in his early Twenties. Miller later invited Gibson to interview their group Sons of an Illustrious Father for Sleek magazine, and a trip to Europe. “I didn’t understand why Ezra, who at that point was 11 years older than my [child] … thinks it’s okay to take a teenager on a trip,” Jumping Eagle tells Rolling Stone.
The petition filing came just one day after Gibson issued their own statement on Instagram saying that Miller has provided nothing but “loving support and invaluable protection throughout this period of loss,” following the death of a friend named William earlier this year.
“I am an adult and I deserve to feel authority in my own body,” Gibson wrote, before adding, “The nature of police intervention in my ‘case’ is unnecessary and it is a waste of time and resource.”
In their post, Gibson accused their parents of “psychological manipulation” and transphobia, and called their parents’ efforts to get rid of Miller from their life as “traumatically life-altering.” They also said they’d seek therapy to address their depression and anxiety.
However, when speaking to Rolling Stone, Gibson’s parents claimed that the former Standing Rock activist did not write the Instagram statement, that Miller asked Gibson to not carry around a phone for their safety, and also “has control” over their personal belongings, including their ID and passport, and that Gibson does not own a personal phone.They also claimed that Miller gave Gibson LSD and alcohol in January, which left Gibson with a days-long bad trip that led them to fly to South Dakota to pick up their child, who was staying with Miller, and take them to a mental health hospital.
“I was concerned about [Gibson’s] safety. [They’re] basically in a mini R. Kelly situation,” Jumping Eagle says. “It really reminds me of that: How [they’re] isolating people, distancing [them] from [their] families and friends.”
Oliver Ignatius — the music producer who claimed to Rolling Stone that Miller stole music they worked on together — shared that he was “extremely uncomfortable” witnessing the relationship between Gibson and Miller. Ignatius said he believed, at first, that Miller was attempting to help Gibson’s singing career.
“I really just had to conclude that their relationship had become totally inappropriate. And that’s about as much as I can really say about it, to be honest,” Ignatius said. “I was extremely uncomfortable with a lot of other things that were going on around them and in their vicinity.” Ignatius declined to comment further.
Along with the claims surrounding their child, Jumping Eagle also claimed that Miller physically assaulted her during a late May trip to Santa Monica to retrieve Gibson.
Over Zoom, Jumping Eagle showed Rolling Stone purple bruises on her arms that she claims were caused by Miller slamming an Uber car door on her. Jumping Eagle said she filed a police report. Rolling Stone could not confirm the status of said report nor whether the bruises were caused by Miller.
“Our main goal is to get [Gibson] to safety and to help [them] figure out what’s going on with their mental health,” Jumping Eagle said. “Whatever [they] decide to do with her life, we just want [them] to live independently and make their own decisions in life.”