Brand New cancels tour after lead singer accused of sexual misconduct

Alternative rock band Brand New cancelled their upcoming tours after a female fan came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against the lead singer, Jesse Lacey.

The woman said that Lacey sought naked pictures of her and pressured her to perform sexual acts when she was underage.

After the allegations surfaced, Lacey, 39, apologized and acknowledged that he had “hurt people, mistreated them, lied, and cheated” due to a sex addiction — but said he has changed after starting his own family.

Many men and women have come forward and revealed that they had been sexually abused or harassed by the people in the entertainment industry. The #MeToo campaign encourages people to speak up about being abused by famous people after Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was accused by several women of sexual misconduct.

Following the allegations against Lacey and his acknowledgement, the band Martha — which had been scheduled as Brand New’s opening act — pulled out of upcoming shows, as did Brand New’s touring guitarist Kevin Devine.

Brand New also announced that it was postponing shows which were planned in Britain and Ireland from this week until further notice.

A woman named Nicole Garey said over the weekend that Lacey first approached her in 2002 when she was 15 and he was 24 after he spotted her taking pictures at a concert in Buffalo, New York.

She wrote on Facebook that the two exchanged messages, and Lacey eventually asked her for nude pictures and pressured her to masturbate for him over Skype.

“It (messed) me up to the point that I STILL have nightmares and wake up in a sweat. I still break down and have panic attacks when people play Brand New in a bar,” she wrote.

She separately told rock magazine Alternative Press that although she was initially flattered by the attention from a rock musician, she found him “underhanded and manipulative”, and had to seek therapy to deal with what she had experienced.

Lacey apologized and sought forgiveness, saying he had long had a “dependent and addictive relationship with sex” and abused his status as a rock singer.

“I do not stand in defence of myself nor do I forgive myself,” he wrote in a statement.

“I was selfish, narcissistic, and insensitive in my past, and there are a number of people who have had to shoulder the burden of my failures,” he said.

“I apologize for the hurt I have caused, and hope to be able to take the correct actions to earn forgiveness and trust.”

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Nov 14 2017. Filed under Entertainment, Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.