Just before Arcade Fire set out on their most recent tour, which kicked off in Dublin on August 30, controversy began to surround the band. Four accounts of sexual misconduct and assault were brought to light alleging the band’s leader Win Butler had been having inappropriate relationships with fans as young as 18. These interactions are speculated to have begun as far back as 2016 according to a report by Pitchfork. Despite these allegations, the band went on to start their tour with scheduled opener Feist. While the opener did not comment publicly about the allegations prior to their performance in Dublin, the band did promise to donate a portion of their merch sales to Women’s Aid Dublin.
Today, Feist took to Instagram to post a statement saying the band is removing itself from the remainder of the tour. In the aforementioned statement, Fesit detailed the stressful situation she was pushed into just days before the tour started; “To stay on the tour would symbolize I was either defending or ignoring the harm caused by Win Butler and to leave would imply I was the judge and the jury”.
There is no word on the future of Arcade Fire’s tour as of right now. You can read Feist’s full statement below:
