Band Cancels Tour After Claim Lead Singer Used Rock Star Status to Manipulate Teenage Girls

The rock band Brand New has canceled the remainder of their tour after a comments on a Facebook post allege the lead singer, Jesse Lacey, used his position as a rock star to sexually manipulate teenage girls.

On Nov. 9, a now-deleted Facebook post by the band’s former guitar tech asked people to give their own testimonials about Lacey being a “creep.” One of the people who responded, Nicole Elizabeth Garey, accused Lacey of requesting she send him naked photos when he she was 15 and he was 24. Other women reportedly responded with similar stories about their pasts.

Lacey responded to the allegations on Facebook. In his post, Lacey apologized for using “[l]ust, sex, love, and arousal” as coping mechanisms. He also issued an apology for those he wronged and for using his position as a member of a band to manipulate people:

The actions of my past have caused pain and harm to a number of people, and I want to say that I am absolutely sorry. I do not stand in defense of myself nor do I forgive myself. I was selfish, narcissistic, and insensitive in my past, and there are a number of people who have had to shoulder the burden of my failures. I apologize for the hurt I have caused, and hope to be able to take the correct actions to earn forgiveness and trust.

[…]

I am sorry for how I have hurt people, mistreated them, lied, and cheated. I am sorry for ignoring the way in which my position, status, and power as a member of a band affected the way people viewed me or their approach to their interactions with me. And I am sorry for how often I have not afforded women the respect, support, or honesty that they deserved, and which is their right. I believe in the equality and autonomy of all, but in my life I have been more of a detriment to these ideals than an advocate.

Lacey also stated that he hopes, “through my actions,” he would be able to earn forgiveness for what he has done:

The fact remains that none of us get to put a wall up between who we are and who we were. I need to earn forgiveness. Concepts like repentance, compassion, and love, are made real through actions, and it’s through my actions that I need to prove change. I hope I can show humility, and that the pain I have caused people can heal. I am not above reproach, and no one should be.

On Monday, Brand New posted on Facebook that as a result of the allegations, they would be postponing their European tour.

Brand New canceling their tour comes after a member of the touring band, Kevin Devine, said he would not performing with the band:

Martha, which was set to be Brand New's back up band during the tour, also pulled out:

Brand New’s most recent album, “Science Fiction,” was a Billboard number one hit. “Science Fiction” is potentially the band’s last album.

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