Content Warning: This article discusses sexual assault. If you or someone you know are affected by the following story, you are not alone. To speak to someone, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Perth metal outfit Make Them Suffer have taken to social media to call out the behaviour of an audience member that groped keyboardist Booka Nile while onstage.
For the last couple of weeks, beloved Perth metal act Make Them Suffer have been touring Europe with the likes of The World Alive, Of Virtue, and AVIANA, playing numerous well-received shows along the way.
Unfortunately, the band’s most recent show ended up being one to remember for all the wrong reasons, with Sunday night’s show in Leipzig, Germany resulting in keyboardist Booka Nile being groped by a crowd-surfing fan.
Taking to Twitter earlier this morning, Nile shared the news to her followers, condemning the actions of the patron that committed the act in question.
“Tonight I was groped by a patron while I played on stage,” Nile wrote. “I am fucking pissed.”
“I’m a person and this is my job. If you think it’s okay to come to my work and act with such gross disrespect then stay at home because you’re not fucking welcome at our shows.”
Tonight our keyboardist, Booka was groped by an audience member who crowd surfed onto stage. We are a united front who want to say that this behaviour repugnant and unacceptable. Anyone who thinks this is in any way okay is not welcome at our shows. https://t.co/B87H5HjXnu
— Make Them Suffer (@makethemsuffer) May 12, 2019
Make Them Suffer later shared Booka Nile’s original Tweet, echoing her comments of how unacceptable such behaviour is.
“Tonight our keyboardist, Booka was groped by an audience member who crowd surfed onto stage,” they wrote. “We are a united front who want to say that this behaviour repugnant and unacceptable.”
“Anyone who thinks this is in any way okay is not welcome at our shows.”
While the patron in question has not been identified, this news comes just weeks after a three-day period which saw as many seperate incidents of onstage assault made public by various Australian musicians.
Following the incidents experienced by WAAX, Kira Puru, and Alex The Astronaut, triple j presenter Bridget Hustwaite asked people to come together to make this behaviour a thing of the past.
“How do we stamp this behaviour out and make gigs a safe space for all?” Bridget asked. “Well, I don’t know if there is a single answer but I do think it starts from the bottom.”
“It starts with your mates, and calling them out if you see them acting in a way that’s making someone else feel uncomfortable.”
“If they’re acting in a manner that you would to hate to see happen to your sister, girlfriend, mum, etc. pull them up on it. It can be as simple as saying ‘Hey man, that’s not cool’. If they reject you, I think it says a lot more about their character than yours and they’re probably not the kind of people you need in your life.”
While Bridget Hustwaite also noted that security and bar staff are also viable options, a number of festivals have now implemented hotlines that should be used to report this behaviour.
Make Them Suffer are set to return to Australia for a homecoming tour next month. If you see any antisocial behaviour taking place, be sure to stand up and call out the perpetrator.
Check out Make Them Suffer’s ’27’:
Make Them Suffer Australian Tour 2019
Friday, June 7th
Rosemount Hotel, Perth, WA
Saturday, June 8th
Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide, SA
Sunday, June 9th
Max Watt’s, Melbourne, VIC
Wednesday, June 12th
The Basement, Canberra, ACT
Thursday, June 13th
Factory Theatre, Marrickville, NSW
Friday, June 14th
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, NSW
Saturday, June 15th
The Valley Drive In, Fortitude Valley, QLD
Tickets on sale through Oztix
