Paramore condemns ‘violence and homophobia’ after alleged assault at gig
Hayley Williams of Paramore at the 2018 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. (Josh Brasted/WireImage/Getty)
Members of Paramore have condemned “violence and homophobia” after an attack on the crowd during a live show.
The American rock band apologised to fans attending the second destination in their US Fall tour after a man “physically assaulted and verbally abused multiple women, including an engaged couple” during a gig in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Band members openly condemned “violence, homophobia, or bigotry of any kind” in a Wednesday (5 October) statement on Twitter, saying that any kind of harassment is “supremely unwelcome in our community and has no place at our shows.”
— paramore (@paramore) October 5, 2022
“We did not realise this was happening, as the incident took place out of view from stage,” they continued. “Had we seen any of this happening, we would have stopped the show until the situation was under control.
“To the fans who were hurt by or who witnessed what happened last night, we are so sorry. We hope you know we will always do anything we can to protect you and make you feel celebrated.”
Fans certainly appreciated the gesture, with some thanking the band for its statement, while others questioned “how y’all acting like this at a Paramore show?”
“Thank you for speaking up about this incident, absolutely awful that this happened,” another said.
Users who claimed to be at the event also lambasted The Great Saltair – the concert hall where the gig took place – with some claiming they had to “walk 1.5 miles from ‘overflow’ with no shuttle running.”
Another said: “PLEASE never perform at this venue again!! Hundreds of fans missed out on [the] majority of your set due to lack of parking accommodations.
“[People] were having to park on the side of the HIGHWAY and walking over a mile to try to make it in time. No sympathy or help from venue staff.”
This isn’t the first time the band has been forced to stand against homophobia. In 2020, lead singer Hayley Williams defiantly called out homophobic rhetoric after an ex-bandmate allegedly called homosexuality a “perversion.”
The frontwoman took to Twitter In October 2020 in a since-deleted tweet that condemned the former band member’s “religiously/politically dogmatic beliefs.”
Although she wasn’t specific as to who the statement was directed at, it came just after recent homophobic comments allegedly made by former guitarist Josh Farro were unearthed.
“There’s a reason there are only three people left in Paramore,” she said. “Surprise, haters, it ain’t ’cause of me. Paramore do not condone religiously/politically dogmatic beliefs which leave our LGBTQ+ friends, fans & family feeling abandoned and hopeless.
“And ya know, if that doesn’t jive with you, well, feel free to go to where all past members of Paramore have gone which is literally anywhere else but Paramore,” she continued.
