Remove ads, unlock a dark mode theme, and get other perks by upgrading your account. Experience the website the way it's meant to be.

PWR BTTM Post Another Statement

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, May 18, 2017.

  1. Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    PWR BTTM have posted up another series of statements in regard to recent allegations. You can read those below.

    From Ben:


    What has transpired over the past several days has been emotionally overwhelming and difficult to comprehend. Last Thursday, I learned that an anonymous individual had made an allegation of sexual assault against me. This allegation was devastating to me as it is contrary to the intentional way I seek to interact with those around me. As I digested the allegations, I tried to figure out who the individual might be so that I could try to reconcile what I had read with my memory of any particular sexual interaction. I’ve waited to respond to the Jezebel article because the statements made about me by the anonymous source did not line up with any sexual experience I have ever had.

    Over the past several days, I was able to figure out who the individual was based on what I was reading and my subsequent conversations with Liv. I am not going to breach the anonymity of the person interviewed in the Jezebel article, but given the serious nature of what was published and its impact, I have to unpack the claims and provide perspective on the details within. We met the night before a show in March of 2016 and spent most of the following day together. After the show, she invited me back to her house and we eventually engaged in sex. Based on the nature of our communications and our interactions with one another, I understood our interactions to be fully consensual. We stayed in touch over the course of several weeks by exchanging texts and pictures. Later, she asked if she could stay with me at my home, where we had sex several more times over the course of those days. Again, I understood these interactions to be fully consensual, especially since our ongoing communications continued to be mutual, positive and reciprocal in nature. We did not see each other much after that but when we did it was entirely pleasant and we continued to exchange texts, including as recently as March of this year. I had no indication before last week that she had any concerns about our interaction.

    Last week I learned that, in February of this year, this person had expressed concerns to others about what had transpired between us. I fully embrace and respect this individual’s right to speak out in any manner or forum they choose, including in a Facebook post or anonymously to a Jezebel reporter. It does not diminish that person’s experience or perception. After the initial shock of learning about her concerns, I have tried to understand her experience of our interactions. It would be antithetical to my values to attack, blame, or shame someone who is using the power of call-out culture to name their experience and hold others accountable, even when – or especially if – the individual they seek to hold accountable is me. I fully appreciate that someone’s views about the dynamics of intimate interactions can change and are not always apparent in the moment. While I am open to understanding this person’s perspective, I strongly contest the account put forth in Jezebel. I am firmly committed to consent, to communication, and to mutual expression of sexual interest. The accusations in Jezebel directly conflict with my experience, as it is not my practice to engage in sexual contact without protection, without discussing the issue with my partner, or to engage in the other conduct alleged in the Jezebel article. That being said, in keeping with my commitment to my principles, I believe it is my responsibility to be accountable to this individual’s perspective and to honor it accordingly.

    One more thing. I have seen posts about people raising concerns about having their boundaries crossed when I have greeted our fans after our shows, something Liv and I do after every performance, taking selfies and thanking folks for coming. This is, again, incredibly shocking news to me, as the safety and well-being of PWR BTTM fans is the most paramount concern I have as a member of this band on and off stage. If my physical contact has made anyone feel uncomfortable, I sincerely apologize and will work hard to have an increased awareness of boundaries moving forward consistent with our commitment to our fans.
    From Liv:


    In February, I made contact with the anonymous individual interviewed by Jezebel, someone I knew casually, after hearing that she had made inflammatory accusations about Ben in a private online forum. My intent in reaching out was to learn more and to make myself available in the event that I could be of any help. Our conversation was friendly, but it ended without a plan for any specific next steps. Based upon our discussion, my understanding was that she did not want me to share her identity with Ben unless I had her explicit permission to do so, and I assured her that I would not do so.

    After our conversation, I wanted to discuss with Ben the issues she had raised but I quickly realized that doing so would inevitably reveal her identity. I did not know how to proceed nor did I know where to seek advice about how to move forward.

    After Ben ascertained the individual’s identity on Friday I decided that my withholding information was no longer protecting her privacy and I told Ben about the conversation she and I had.
    From PRW BTTM:


    As some of you know, we set up a separate email address back in mid-May so that anyone with information relevant to the situation that was then unfolding could privately share what they knew. At the time we thought it was the right thing to do. We now see that we were putting the onus on others to do something that only works if it is what they want. We have concluded that there is no viable way to do what we were trying to accomplish, with the result that we are going to shut that email address down (we have not and will not look at any emails that may have been sent there to date).

    Finally, to our fans, our friends, our family and those who have supported us unfailingly and who continue to support us unfailingly: thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Having enjoyed the enthusiastic support of so many incredible people throughout our music careers has been a blessing. We love playing music, we love sharing music with others and we want nothing more than to be back performing together soon.

     
  2. aniafc

    Trusted

    hmm
     
  3. tyramail

    Trusted Supporter

    Not that I really care about their statement, but this was put together so much better than their first bs statement. Their first one makes this seem less genuine and more about trying to save face.
     
  4. jjnunn118

    Signal Vs. Noise Prestigious

    This statement is still really bad though. It's basically them using the word accountability as many times as they can, while also saying that nothing happened, the allegations are false, and we'll be back playing shows.

    Plus this statement is focusing on the one allegation that was posted in Jezebel, while ignoring the countless others that have come out. They're basically using this one event to sweep the others under the rug.
     
    SaveTheEarth and Merve like this.
  5. I mean... okay? Sounds like a person being unaware of how their actions are perceived other people.

    "But wait hear me out, I think I'm a good person."

    Sometimes people just need to stop and take stock of what they've done. Perhaps the Jezebel article said untruthful things, but that doesn't excuse the actual wrongful actions.
     
  6. tyramail

    Trusted Supporter

    Oh totally, I don't disagree. I also don't think it could've went much worse than their first statement haha. They still suck.
     
    jjnunn118 likes this.
  7. Timmiluvs

    I play video games fast Prestigious

    This thread is a good read on breaking down this response:

     
    bigmike and Fucking Dustin like this.
  8. SamLevi11

    Trusted Prestigious

    I honestly don't consider myself to be extremely knowledgeable on these subjects, but all I got from this was:
    They are being very selective with what they actually address.
    Ben clearly has no idea of what consent is, or at least they assumed consent (seriously how hard is it just to make sure, if I can do so can they). Well, of course that or they are lying.
    Liv's section makes no real logical sense in my opinion. Still doesn't really justify her actions.
    That whole email thing is legit one of the worst ideas I have ever heard.
     
  9. AgainstMe182

    Newbie

    Thought this was one of the best, most genuine statements I've seen
     
    thenewtypetheory likes this.
  10. cwhit

    still emperor emo Prestigious

    except that all they did was victim blame and didn't actually acknowledge all the other incidents people accused them of and are basically like "we hope to be there soon"?
    if that's one of the most genuine statements you've seen then you've seen a whole lot of disgusting statements, because this is horrible and manipulative and using buzzwords to make people think they're actually being "accountable"
     
  11. Chinesefood

    Regular

    Agreed. It's not 100% beyond the realm of possibility that this person is actually not a rapist. I hope everyone involved can get on the other side of this soon.
     
    thenewtypetheory likes this.
  12. cwhit

    still emperor emo Prestigious

    but then why did they only comment on one incident and not the multitude of others that have been accused?

    do you think that a dozen people are all trying to tag team to take this team down?
     
  13. Fucking Dustin

    Please click "like" Supporter

    In the thread @Timmiluvs posted up there ^ this tweet stands out as something I think about A LOT when I read responses from bands about things like this

     
    mattfreaksmeout, Timmiluvs and cwhit like this.
  14. Chinesefood

    Regular

    I'm just looking at this objectively, being that I'm a sales associate from Massachusetts with zero involvement in the incident
     
  15. cwhit

    still emperor emo Prestigious

    looking at it objectively would mean you would know that the VAST majority of assault claims are absolutely true. and the fact there have been so many have made it very obvious what the outcome was here. there's obviously a chance, but from an objective standpoint, it's very clear what the right position is right now.
     
    AshlandATeam likes this.
  16. Steeeve Perry

    Trusted

    Not saying the response has been unwarranted. At all. But it is unprecedented just how swift and visceral the reaction to this has been.
    Consider this: band's album is not being sold anywhere, after Ben was accused of sexual assault. You can still buy Lostprophets albums everywhere (if you really want to). Ian Watkins is a known pedophile.
    This shows how high the standards are within some scenes, and how disappointing low they are almost everywhere else.
     
  17. AgainstMe182

    Newbie

    I was legit impressed. Obviously any statement of any kind was going to be picked apart with a fine - toothed comb (ESPECIALLY on this site), but I thought they did as good of a job as anyone could have done.
     
  18. bransco2010

    Newbie

    Yellowcard2006 and cwhit like this.
  19. mattfreaksmeout

    Trusted Supporter

    I also think the tweet where she pointed out that they said "the statement we put out back in Mid-May" was an important point which exposed their true intentions with this statement. (Which is to try to make it seem that this has all been resolved, they've learned their lesson, and this is a thing in the distant pass that we can all move on from now. It isn't.)
     
    AshlandATeam and Fucking Dustin like this.
  20. cwhit

    still emperor emo Prestigious

  21. personalmaps

    citrus & cinnamon Prestigious

    Every statement from someone accused of rape should absolutely be "picked apart with a fine-toothed comb" so honestly get out of here with this condescending "this site is so picky!" nonsense. Personally, I'm picky because I'm tired of finding out that artists I have supported with my time, energy, and money are using the platform I've helped build for them to abuse vulnerable people. Ben and Liv have disappointed me more than I can say and this statement only adds to that feeling.
     
    crunchprank, Aregala, Robk and 14 others like this.
  22. Fucking Dustin

    Please click "like" Supporter

    People who have a problem with how PWR BTTM's statement is getting criticized never seem to have any problem with defenders of a band picking apart a victim's statement "with a fine-toothed comb"
     
  23. Steeeve Perry

    Trusted

    A person/band can't win with public statements. Either they admit guilt or they come across as lacking contrition. Only solution is to not sexually assault anybody, what a concept.
     
  24. Yellowcard2006

    Trusted

    Almost sounds like they think they are still a band. Shocking to see they only barely address 1 account (and basically said the person is wrong)
     
  25. sebastianrcgr

    Newbie

    ermmmm, why sexually assault someone in the first place though?? do you see me needing to write a half ass apology? so yes, solution is to NOT sexually assault someone in the first place, create a safe scene fam.