Beck No Longer Opening for Arcade Fire on Tour
Beck will no longer serve as the opening act on Arcade Fire‘s upcoming North American tour, Billboard can confirm. Instead, the Haitian band Boukman Eksperyans will take his place.
While Beck didn’t provide a reason for his decision, his exit comes just months after sexual misconduct allegations against the Arcade Fire’s frontman Win Butler. The allegations against Butler were first published on Aug. 27 in a Pitchfork story. The report detailed the accounts of four individuals who claimed to have had inappropriate sexual interactions with Butler, with one alleging that the singer had assaulted them; he has denied that any of the alleged incidents were nonconsensual.
In addition to the testimonies of his alleged victims, a statement from Butler was included in Pitchfork‘s report. In it, the musician says the relationships he’s had outside of his marriage to Arcade Fire bandmate Régine Chassagne have all been consensual, and that his wife had been aware of them.
“Our marriage has, in the past, been more unconventional than some,” he wrote. “I have connected with people in person, at shows, and through social media, and I have shared messages of which I am not proud. Most importantly, every single one of these interactions has been mutual and always between consenting adults. It is deeply revisionist, and frankly just wrong, for anyone to suggest otherwise.”
“I have never touched a woman against her will, and any implication that I have is simply false,” he continued. “I vehemently deny any suggestion that I forced myself on a woman or demanded sexual favors. That simply, and unequivocally, never happened.”
“While these relationships were all consensual, I am very sorry to anyone who I have hurt with my behavior,” he added. “Life is filled with tremendous pain and error, and I never want to be part of causing someone else’s pain.”
Rania Aniftos
Billboard