CW: This story deals with the topic of sexual assault
Just two days after responding to a number of sexual assault allegations, Chicago punk rockers The Orwells have announced their decision to break up.
Over the weekend, a number of allegations against the band became public. These claims, which were gathered in a Reddit post, contained multiple allegations of sexual abuse, interactions with underage girls, and unsolicited photos and videos amongst other things.
On Tuesday, the band released a statement which saw them address the claims made against them.
“It’s come to our attention that certain allegations of abuse have been made against one or more of us on social media and in social circles of Chicago,” the group wrote in a since-removed statement. “We’d like to first state that sexual abuse in any form is abhorrent.”
“We do not take these accusations lightly and consider this matter incredibly serious. We emphatically deny these baseless allegations brought as a personal attack against us.”
https://twitter.com/TheOrwells/status/1034174890629386241
“While callow altercations and vulgar language we’ve used in the past must be recognized and owned up to, the accusations of sexual assault are completely unfounded,” they continued. “No member of this band has ever acted without consent or maliciously taken advantage of anyone.”
“We encourage anyone who’s been affected by sexual abuse to speak up and make their abusers known; however we also encourage everyone to be cautious of the things they read and say on the Internet.”
“No victim of abuse should be hesitant to make their voice heard and if someone does feel that we’ve hurt them, we encourage them to contact us properly and privately (not via social media or anonymously), as to respect their identity.”
In the wake of this statement, the band also announced that they were cancelling their previously-scheduled hometown performance in November, though no further details were provided.
Now, the band have formally announced their breakup in a brief, yet concise statement on social media.
https://twitter.com/TheOrwells/status/1034895255114600449
The band have yet to release any further statement in regards to their split, though numerous organisations have reached out to them for further comment.
This news comes just one year after the band announced their debut Australian tour in support of their last album, Terrible Human Beings.
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Check out The Orwells’ ‘Who Needs You’:
