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Alex Watson: Win Butler betrayed our trust – don’t let him off easy

Win Butler of Arcade Fire has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple people (Photo: Amy Harris/Invision/AP/Shutterstock)
Win Butler of Arcade Fire has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple people (Photo: Amy Harris/Invision/AP/Shutterstock)

Another day, another successful man accused of sexual misconduct.

Win Butler, frontman of massively popular Canadian indie rock outfit, Arcade Fire, is the latest to make the list, with detailed allegations from multiple brave people reported by Pitchfork. I read them from start to finish, frozen in place, sick to my stomach.

But, really, what did I expect? Fool me twice, shame on me.

I’ve been here before, five years ago, when it emerged that Jesse Lacey of American band Brand New had been accused of past sexual misconduct by two women.

Rumours lit up the internet. Lacey apologised, admitted to a past sex addiction and retreated into anonymity, where he has stayed ever since. Brand New split up; 17 years together, over in an instant.

And there we all stood as the dust settled and our skin crawled, suddenly gullible idiots. We hadn’t just bought the records and the gig tickets; we had bought the sensitive, thoughtful persona this man had peddled to us. We hadn’t just sung the words, we’d tattooed them on our bodies.

Post-2017, I started to listen to many of those lyrics differently, suspecting that Lacey had been arrogantly hiding in plain sight all along. “Lie for fun and fake the way I hold you, let you fall for every empty word I say”.

Fans were left with a moral wrestle

One of my favourite songwriters, whose work I adored and felt a strong emotional connection to, was a manipulative, self-centred creep who had taken advantage of other people (just like me) who admired him. Such an intimate, meaningful connection, exploited entirely. The grief was strange but genuinely painful.

I felt I couldn’t listen to the music anymore without embarrassment; every time I pressed play, I was condoning horrifying behaviour. Now I’ll do the same moral wrestle with Arcade Fire.

The Me Too and Time’s Up movements began to call out abusers in positions of power (Photo: Sundry Photography/Shutterstock)

I was never a Ryan Adams fan, thank God. If I had been, I would have felt punched in the stomach yet again when similar allegations against him came to light in 2019.

The same would have happened if I’d loved other, lesser-known bands and artists; Sun Kil Moon, Pwr Bttm, Part Time, The Buttertones and, honestly, more than I can remember or have space to mention. Abuse of power is an epidemic in the entertainment industry, even with the Me Too spotlight firmly fixed on it.

No more heroes?

So, what do you do when, like me, you don’t see a way of separating the artist from the art? It’s impossible to extract Jesse Lacey from Brand New’s music – he sang every song and wrote every lyric. The same is true of Ryan Adams’ work, and much of Arcade Fire’s back catalogue.

It’s female support act Feist who will lose out financially, after making the principled choice not to perform alongside Butler’s band

The most logical solution is to have no heroes – to accept that everybody is human and flawed. To rationalise that someone with enough ego to pursue a front-and-centre career in music is probably going to act selfishly. To expect this kind of thing.

But I’m not letting Win Butler off that easy. He wanted our adoration when it suited him – now he should have to face our disappointment and anger.

Don’t try to tell me that he, Lacey, Adams and all the rest have suffered or will suffer enough after being “cancelled”. At the time of writing, Win Butler is still playing live on tour with Arcade Fire – business as usual. In fact, it’s female support act Feist who will lose out financially, after making the principled choice not to perform alongside Butler’s band.

His decision to keep touring and his lacklustre response to the robust accusations against him suggest he doesn’t feel much shame or guilt. Yet, I do.

There are so many victims here, directly and indirectly affected. With a great record comes great responsibility – that’s why we still have to hold our heroes accountable.


Alex Watson is Head of Comment for The Press & Journal and needs new music recommendations

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