Arcade Fire: Win Butler’s brother likes Feist’s post about quitting tour after sexual misconduct allegations
Feist had announced she will no longer be supporting the band on its current tour
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Your support makes all the difference.Will Butler, former Arcade Fire musician and brother of the band’s frontman Win Butler, has liked a post by Feist announcing that she will no longer support the group on its current tour.
Leslie Feist – who performs under her surname – shared the news on Twitter on Thursday (1 September), citing sexual misconduct allegations faced by Arcade Fire’s Win as the reason behind her decision.
Win has denied the allegations but has apologised “to anyone who I have hurt with my behaviour”.
In a series of tweets posted in March this year, Will had announced that he had left the band at the end of 2021, saying that it was “time for new things” and that the band remain his “friends and family”.
“Hi friends— I’ve left Arcade Fire,” he wrote. “I left at the end of last year, after the new record was complete. There was no acute reason beyond that I’ve changed—and the band has changed—over the last almost 20 years. Time for new things.”
Feist opened for Arcade Fire’s first two concerts of the current tour in Dublin, which took place 30 and 31 August (three days after the allegations broke) at the 3Arena, donating all proceeds from merch sales to Women’s Aid Dublin, an organisation dedicated to stopping domestic violence across Ireland.
In a lengthy statement, Feist wrote that she had read the news of the allegations facing Butler after rehearsing in the Irish capital.
“We didn’t have any time to prepare for what was coming let alone a chance to decide not to fly across the ocean into the belly of this situation,” the Canadian singer-songwriter wrote.
“This has been incredibly difficult for me and I can only imagine how much more difficult it’s been for the people who came forward.”
In a statement of their own, Arcade Fire responded to Feist’s decision, saying: “We are very sorry to see Leslie go home, but completely understand and respect her decision.”
Feist was scheduled to tour with Arcade Fire through the rest of September in Europe.
Speaking to Pitchfork, four people accused Butler of “inappropriate” actions between 2015 and 2020.
All fans of the band, they alleged that they had sexual interactions with Butler when they were aged between 18 and 23. Butler at the time was between 36 and 39.
In a statement to the publication, Butler said that while he was “very sorry to anyone who I have hurt with my behaviour... these relationships were all consensual”.
“I f***ed up, and while not an excuse, I will continue to look forward and heal what can be healed, and learn from past experiences,” he said.
If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit their website here