Local: Members of The Orwells Accused of Sexual Assault
Last night, a slew of sexual assault allegations begin coming out surrounding Chicago band The Orwells. And it was a lot. It wasn't one victim, but many victims, who came forward with detailed story about past experiences with Mario Cuomo, Henry Brinner and Grant Brinner (you can find a google doc of compiled allegations here). The allegations are repulsive and extremely troubling. As they came out, members of many Chicago bands spoke out in support of the victims, and publicly stating that they've heard about these allegations throughout the years. As a result of the allegations, The Metro cancelled their upcoming hometown show, and released the following statement via twitter.
Metro does not tolerate acts of violence, victimization, or predation. We always encourage our patrons to voice their concerns and want you to know that we not only hear you—we support any effort that makes our local music scene safer and more equitable.
— Metro (@MetroChicago) August 27, 2018
The band finally responded to the allegations in a statement found below:
“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. 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.
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. 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.”
To be honest, reading that statement aggered me. The reason is this: either the Orwells are lying in their statement, or all of the victims and members of the Chicago music community who support them are collectively lying. Which one seems more plausible? We do not support The Orwells. Basement Couch stands with the brave women who have come forward with these allegations. We applaud them for starting a conversation that quite frankly needed to happen a long time ago. We do not support any band that condones acts of violence, hate, misogyny and predation. It sucks that something so obvious has to be stated, and that taken this long for this necessary step to be made. See below for statements from Chicago bands Twin Peaks, Modern Vices, and Grapetooth.
PSA pic.twitter.com/I797qGBJxJ
— Twin Peaks (@TwinPeaksDudes) August 28, 2018
There is no room for this in Chicago (or any scene) https://t.co/f5ji3TzzWf
— Modern Vices (@ModernVices) August 27, 2018
if you are questioning or rejecting any allegations or testaments from the victims of the orwells abusive, inhumane, manipulative behavior - you are a part of the issue. what they have done is inexcusable and has no place in Chicago, the music world, and beyond.
— Grapetooth (@Grapetoothband) August 28, 2018
