Music/News

Allegations of sexual misconduct surface on Twitter about Hedley

Update: The band has issued a statement about the allegations.

By: A.Side Staff
February 13, 2018

Update (February 14th 2018 3:16pm)

The  JUNO Awards has released the following statement.

Update (February 14th 2018 2:45pm) Hedley has responded to the allegations with a post shared on their Facebook page. 

All of us in Hedley respect and applaud the #MeToo movement and the open and honest discussion it has inspired. We believe these conversations are particularly important within the music industry, which does not exactly have an enviable history of treating women with the respect they deserve. We appreciate the bravery of those who have come forward with their own stories, and we realize that all of us, as individuals and as a society, can and must do better when it comes to this issue.

However, if we are to have a meaningful, open and honest discussion, we all have to accept and respect that there are at least two sides to every story. The recent allegations against us posted on social media are simply unsubstantiated and have not been validated. We would hope that people will bear-in-mind the context in which these unsupported accusations have been made before passing judgment on us as individuals or as a band.

We realize the life of a touring band is an unconventional one. While we are all now either married or have entered into committed, long-term relationships, there was a time, in the past, when we engaged in a lifestyle that incorporated certain rock and roll clichés. However, there was always a line that we would never cross.

We realize this conversation is as important to our fans as it is to us, and we never want to distract from these important discussions. To that end, as we move forward, we will be evaluating some of our next steps. Hedley’s music should only ever be a positive force, and our performances and personal appearances should continue to be inclusive and safe experiences that bring nothing but joy and happiness to our fans.

Update (February 13th 2018 4:25PM)

In  a statement to Entertainment Tonight Canada, Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The Juno Awards and MusiCounts shared his thoughts involving the situation. ““We are aware of the serious allegations regarding Hedley and we are following this situation very closely.”

After a string of tweets shared online, fans are now calling for the Canadian pop band Hedley to be dropped from their upcoming Juno performance in the midst of sexual misconduct allegations involving underage girls. The hashtag #outHedley2k18 has been used as a platform for fans to share their stories about their experiences with band. Many of the women who have come forward were around 14 to 17 years old at the time of the incident, describing inappropriate experiences they have had either shows, meet and greets or unofficial hangouts with the band.

The allegations detail a number of sexual interactions with underage concertgoers. User @_cndnpsycho had been sharing some anonymous stories by some women including this one below:

 

Last year, band member Chris Crippin left the band. Early this morning, Crippin posted an image on Twitter t of the popular meme of Kermit the Frog sipping some tea.

 

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