Win Butler of the Grammy Award-winning band, Arcade Fire, is at the center of a developing scandal. A report from Pitchfork finds that four different people have accused the popular musician of sexual misconduct and sexual assault. Three women tell the music outlet that they were involved in interactions with Butler that they came to feel were “inappropriate given the gaps in age, power dynamics, and context in which they occurred.” A fourth, gender-fluid accuser claims that Butler sexually assaulted them twice in 2015 when they were 21 and Butler was 34. From 2015 to 2020, the Grammy Award winner has been accused of sending sexually explicit text messages without consent, initiating sexual acts without consent and abusing power dynamics in multiple extramarital affairs.
Hours after the story was published, Butler issued a statement. The popular musician did not deny having a relationship with any of the four women identified in the report, but he claims that all of their interactions were consensual.
“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. I vehemently deny any suggestion that I forced myself on a woman or demanded sexual favors,” he stated.
“While these relationships were all consensual, I am very sorry to anyone who I have hurt with my behavior. Life is filled with tremendous pain and error, and I never want to be part of causing someone else’s pain.”
Butler’s bandmate and the mother of his child, Régine Chassagne, has also issued a statement in defense of Win Butler.
“I know what is in his heart, and I know he has never, and would never, touch a woman without her consent and I am certain he never did,” she commented.
“He has lost his way and he has found his way back. I love him and love the life we have created together.”
