Paramore have responded to reports that a male audience member at one of the band’s recent shows physically and verbally assaulted a number of women.
“After last night’s show in SLC, we were made aware of an incident that happened in the crowd while we were on stage,” Hayley Williams and company wrote on social media. “A man physically and verbally assaulted multiple women, including an engaged couple at our show. Our security team and venue staff were made aware and were able to restrain and remove him. We did not realize this was happening, as the incident took place out of view from stage. Had we seen any of this happening, we would have stopped the show until the situation was under control.”
The band went on to write that they “[do] not condone violence, homophobia, or bigotry of any kind,” and that such behavior is “supremely unwelcome” at their show: “To the fans who were hurt by or who witnessed what happened last night, we are so sorry,” the post reads. “We hope that you know we will always do anything we can to protect you and make you feel celebrated.”
Paramore concluded their statement: “To make things as clear as possible: Paramore shows are meant to be a safe place for people. If you can’t respect that, do not come.” Read their post in full below.
Last week, Paramore announced that their new album This Is Why — their long-awaited follow-up to 2017’s After Laughter — would be out on February 10th, 2023. They previewed the record by sharing its title track, which we crowned Song of the Week. Paramore have also just begun their 2022 North American tour, which has already seen the trio bring “Misery Business” out of retirement; grab tickets to their remaining dates over at Ticketmaster.
— paramore (@paramore) October 5, 2022