Dates on the forthcoming Rancid Eddie ‘Opposite of Wet’ tour have silently been canceled amid allegations of misogyny surrounding the Mount Waverly five-piece.

Earlier this week, Brisbane-based independent booking agency Interstellar Music announced it would be canceling Rancid Eddie’s scheduled February 18 show at Thirsty Chiefs Brewing Company in North Lakes, Brisbane.

“We have made the very easy decision to cancel the upcoming Rancid Eddie Show in Brisbane due to their unacceptable behavior,” Interstellar Music wrote in a statement shared to Instagram. “Their actions and words have no place in this world and we will always strive for our gigs to be safe places for women.”

In the days following, a handful of dates on the scheduled tour have silently been cancelled, including shows at La La La’s in Wollongong, Woolly Mammoth in Fortitude Valley, Vinnie’s Dive Bar in Southport, and two dates at The Espy in St. Kilda.

Two of the band’s scheduled dates at The Lansdowne in Sydney have dissapeared from the OzTix site, though as it stands, their scheduled sold-out show on February 11 will go on.

Vinnie’s Dive Bar shared an Instagram repost of Interstellar Music’s announcement, confirming that the venue made the call to cancel the show, adding: “very easy decision.”

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The slow cancellation of the tour follows a mire of controversy surrounding the band and their lyrics, which have been criticised for misogyny and lampooning toxic masculinity.

The discourse was sparked after the band were awarded the coveted top spot for Spotify’s New Music Friday for their single ‘Dry.’

Following the feature, Kira Puru took to Twitter to share screenshots of the lyrics to the song, noting the songs shades of misogyny and writing that the lyrics (I’m always drunk ‘cuz I hate you) could be considered triggering for those who have experienced an abusive relationship.

“It doesn’t matter what the song’s about or whether the band identify as misogynists. The lyric ‘I’m always drunk ‘cuz I hate you’ unapologetically hints at the type of behaviour that anyone who has been in an abusive relo knows well and shouldn’t be normalised let alone promoted,” Puru wrote.

The band faced further criticism after a screen-recorded video of an Instagram live performance made the rounds on social media; with critics taking umbrage with the lyrics “I wanna punch some cunt, then fuck some slut, then pass out face down in the rain” and “She’s just a cum rag for his ball bag.”

In the days following, Australian musicians took to social media to criticize the institutions, labels, and streaming services that have platformed the band; who have been backed by the likes of triple j with a Home & Hosed premiere.

“I’ve heard of a few acts that are runaway successes and untouchable even though they are misogynists or abusers etc…no one can touch them bc they have all the money in the world to litigate & labels that protect them,” wrote Montaigne.

“I’m still always in disbelief that labels protect these guys, bc labels, or radio, or streaming services are still peopled by individuals with the capacity for conscience…is the money machine really so all-powerful that these people forget that platforming these sorts of acts is harmful? perpetuating a sick culture that hurts many?”

Amid the controversy, Rancid Eddie released a statement to Instagram, addressing claims of misogyny. The band maintained that they were not misogynists, rather, they use their music to “explore the dark sides of relationships.”

“We’ve seen some comments online calling us misogynists. We want to be very clear that although we explore the dark sides of relationships in our lyrics (and we understand that these lyrics can be problematic for some), we oppose hatred or violence of any kind against women. Men who abuse women are pathetic and we don’t tolerate it,” the band wrote.

Directly addressing the criticism of their Instagram Live performance, the band admitted, “We know that some of those went too far for some people, and we took those videos down.”

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