Singer Feist left Arcade Fire’s current tour after sexual misconduct allegations against the band’s frontman Win Butler surfaced. The Grammy-nominated performer served as the opening act for Arcade Fire in Dublin earlier this week and was scheduled to tour Europe with the band in September. Last week, three women and a fourth person came forward to accuse Butler, 42, of sexual misconduct. Butler said the alleged interactions were all consensual.
Feist performed at Dublin’s 3Arena on Aug. 30 and 31 as the opener for Arcade Fire. She donated her merchandise sales to Women’s Aid Dublin, a group dedicated to stopping domestic violence in Ireland, reports Pitchfork. After she announced her decision to leave the tour on Instagram, Arcade Fire said they were “very sorry to see Leslie go home, but completely understand and respect her decision.”
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In her statement, Feist said she learned of the allegations against Butler while rehearsing with her band. “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,” she 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. More than anything I wish healing to those involved.”
The “1234” singer went on to say that by leaving the tour, she is only distancing herself from the tour, not the conversation surrounding the allegations around Butler. “The last two nights on stage, my songs made this decision for me,” she wrote. “Hearing them through this lens was incongruous with what I’ve worked to clarify for myself through my whole career. I’ve always written songs to name my own subtle difficulties, aspire to my best self, and claim responsibility when I need to. And I’m claiming my responsibility now and going home.”
Back on Aug. 27, Pitchfork published interviews with multiple people about Butler’s offstage behavior. Three women said they had sexual interactions with Butler that were inappropriate because they were between the ages of 18 and 23 when they started seeing him and he was between 36 and 39. The women, who used pseudonyms, were all Arcade Fire fans when they met Butler. A fourth person, who is gender fluid and uses they/them pronouns, told Pitchfork they were sexually assaulted by Butler twice in 2015 when they were 21 and the musician was 34.
Butler first responded to Pitchfork through crisis public relations expert Risa Heller, insisting the interactions were consensual and “not initiated” by him. Heller and Butler offered to connect Pitchfork with other women who claimed to have had consensual sexual experiences with him. Heller included a comment from Butler’s band made and longtime partner, Régine Chassagne. “He has lost his way, and he has found his way back,” Chassagne said. In another statement to Pitchfork, Butler apologized and claimed the interactions happened when he was in a period of “drinking and depression.”
“While these relationships were all consensual, I am very sorry to anyone who I have hurt with my behavior,” Butler wrote. “As I look to the future, I am continuing to learn from my mistakes and working hard to become a better person, someone my son can be proud of… I’m sorry I wasn’t more aware and tuned in to the effect I have on people – 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.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
