Disturbing EP Cover Appearing to Feature Kids Sparks Outrage—'Grooming'

An "indie sleaze" musician is facing condemnation online over his EP cover, which depicts models styled as young girls in suggestive positions.

Harrison Patrick Smith, 27, released The Sex EP under the name The Dare on May 19. The four-track project was released under Universal Music Group's Republic Records division, which is home to such stars as Taylor Swift, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Pearl Jam and the Jonas Brothers.

The EP is Smith's debut on the label, to which he signed in April. Rolling Stone says he previously earned a living as a substitute teacher at a private school in New York City.

While the title of the EP has raised eyebrows, the styling of the cover has sparked furor among a host of social media users.

On the day of its release, the image was shared on the Twitter account of Republic Records, alongside the caption: "Have a good time to 'The Sex Ep' by @itsthedare. We dare you."

The image shows a model in pink shorts and a cropped T-shirt bent over a speaker, while a man holds onto her waist from behind. Her face is completely covered by her hair and not visible.

Another model is depicted as straddling a man on the floor while wearing a gray school-style skirt and a green cardigan. Looking away from the camera and obscuring her profile with a mass of hair, the second model's face is also not visible.

Smith had debuted the promotional image on his Instagram account on May 5, although all comments have since been turned off following condemnation.

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Republic Records via email for comment.

The imagery has sparked outrage on social media, with one Twitter user asking of the models: "Are they supposed to look like little girls? Who okayed this s***?"

British former soccer player Matt Le Tissier posted the cover of the album, adding of Smith: "This man was a school teacher not long ago. To those that call people conspiracy theorists when warning about normalising pedophillia take a look at what was allowed to be marketed. Sick."

"This is normalizing pedophilia," one Twitter user wrote in response. "This is grooming. Harrison Patrick Smith 27, who goes by The Dare turned off the comments on his IG."

"Disgusting!" opined another. "The people who signed this off should be ashamed and probably investigated."

"I've had the sickening misfortune to trip over this on my timeline, I'm not sure how," said another detractor. "Is the music so very bad that it needs this abhorrent level of distraction? This is NOT Art & NOT ok. It's disgusting."

Amid the wave of decidedly vocal critics of the cover image, some Twitter users defended the choice.

"Sin is in the mind of the beholder," wrote one. "And there's an awful lot of right wingers seeing minors in this picture. That speaks volumes."

When a Twitter user stated that the image was "normalising sex with children," they countered: "What it's doing is stirring the easily bothered. Anyone with an ounce of critical thinking skills can see through it. Much like any old Rolling Stones album cover."

"If a person looks at that picture and sees children, it speaks more to their perverted mind than anything else," they added. "Those models are adults."

On his Instagram account, Smith says he has performed at shows in New York City to support the EP's release. He has two dates scheduled for June 8 and 9 in Los Angeles.

On the day The Sex EP was released, Smith wrote on Instagram that "these are the first four Dare songs, meant to be played at high volume. I'm ecstatic to share new music with you and I can't say enough how much I appreciate the support I've received so far. It's all f****** crazy and this is only the beginning."