Three days after the start of Arcade Fire’s tour, for which she provided the opening act, Canadian musician Leslie Feist has pulled out due to allegations of sexual misconduct against singer Win Butler. She says she needs to “take [s]distances from this tour, not from this conversation”.
Posted at 2:20 p.m.
Updated at 3:52 p.m.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Feist said she learned of the allegations after a rehearsal when she and her band were already in Dublin, where Arcade Fire’s tour kicked off on Tuesday. The news obviously came as a shock to them. “We didn’t have time to prepare for what was coming, let alone decide not to cross the ocean into the eye of the storm. »
She nevertheless reacted promptly: from the first concert, she chose to donate the profits from the sale of her promotional items to an Irish organization helping women victims of violence, Women’s Aid. She says, however, that she was caught in a great dilemma: “To continue the tour would have symbolized that I was defending Win Butler or that I was unaware of the suffering he caused and to withdraw implied that I was both judge and jury. »
The allegations reignited “a conversation that’s bigger than me, bigger than my songs, and certainly bigger than any rock ‘n’ roll tour,” she continued. Feist states in his post that he, like everyone else, has had experiences that fall “on the spectrum from toxic masculinity to pervasive misogyny” and which can go as far as physical, psychological, emotional or sexual aggression. That the road to recovery from abuse is strewn with loneliness. “I can’t settle this by leaving [la tournée], I can’t settle this by staying. But it can’t go on,” she said.
“I am imperfect and I will navigate imperfectly through this decision, but I am sure the best way to take care of my band, my team and my family is to distance myself from this tour, not from this conversation. “, she writes again.
Feist opened for Arcade Fire’s two Dublin concerts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hearing his own songs in this context seemed completely incoherent to him. “I’ve always written songs that name my own struggles, aspired to be the best version of myself possible, and to take responsibility when necessary,” she concludes. I take responsibility and go home. »
Feist’s withdrawal comes just days after the US outlet published pitchfork of an investigation containing allegations that Win Butler, 42, had inappropriate relationships with four people. The singer did not deny the relationship, but assured that they were all consensual.
The publication of the survey pitchfork sparked calls for the cancellation of the Arcade Fire tour, which is due to end in Montreal on December 3. Nothing indicates for the moment that the group or the promoters question it. Calls for a boycott have also been launched in recent days. CBC Music, in particular, announced on Tuesday that it was ceasing to broadcast the group’s songs.