Opening Acts Drop Off PWR BTTM Tour As Abuse Accusations Swirl

By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on May 12, 2017 4:09PM

PWR BTTM

Controversy continues to swirl around a prominent queercore indie band after a member was accused of abuse and anti-Semitism in a Chicago-based social-media group. More allegations were posted against New York-based duo PWR BTTM; the band has cancelled their record-release show amid the accusations; and Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, a Chicago-based musician, is one of two artists to pull out as supporting artists for PWR BTTM's upcoming tour.

Kitty Cordero-Kolin on Wednesday posted the accusations—which then circulated widely on Reddit and Twitter—said they had witnessed member Ben Hopkins initiate "inappropriate sexual contact" without consent and heard stories of bullying and unwanted advances having been made. Cordero-Kolin also posted an image of Hopkins posing next to a Swastika drawn in sand on a beach—an act he apologized for in December and described as a "stupid," youthful act of defiance against political correctness. The band issued a statement on Thursday addressing the allegations of abuse and said they have set up an email account where survivors can reach out to discuss allegations.

"Hi everyone,

Ben and Liv here. We want to respond to some very serious allegations that have been made against Ben. The allegations come as a surprise, but we are trying to address them with openness and accountability. With respect to the image included with these allegations, Ben previously addressed this matter on their/the band’s Twitter in January (https://ibb.co/dsNRRQ).

Unfortunately we live in a culture which trivializes and normalizes violations of consent. There are people who have violated others’ consent and do not know. Ben has not been contacted by any survivor(s) of abuse. These allegations are shocking to us and we take them very seriously. Further, the alleged behavior is not representative of who Ben is and the manner in which they try to conduct themselves.

To address this matter head on, we have set up an email address through which a survivor or someone working directly with a survivor can discuss the allegations being expressed on social media: pwrbttm.ask@gmail.com We are currently looking for a mediator with the necessary qualifications. This will be the only person with access to the account. Ben does not have access to the account, for two reasons: 1) because we acknowledge that certain individuals will not feel comfortable establishing a direct communication link between themselves and Ben, and 2) to protect Ben in the event that a malicious party attempts to use the address for anything but its intended purpose.

Our primary goal here is to ensure that a survivor of abuse has a voice, that their story should be heard and that people who cross the line should be held accountable. What this means for the band, our album, our fans and our upcoming tours is, as of yet, unclear. Music is everything to us, but we feel strongly that this matter needs to be addressed first. Updates forthcoming."

Following the statement, Cordero-Kolin said that while they themselves had not personally been abused, they continued support for those who may have been. The user on Thursday morning also supplied—with names redacted—more allegations that they received in the wake of the scandal.

Cordero-Kolin also said that the band's email solution wasn't tenable."I don't think people are comfortable reaching out to PWR BTTM," they told Chicagoist. The invocation of a "mediator" felt like "trying not to seem like abusers' language for 'lawyer," they said.

Meanwhile, ascendant Chicago artist Ogbonnaya has decided to take himself off PWR BTTM's tour itinerary. He wrote on Thursday night in a Facebook post:

"Hey y'all. I'll no longer be opening up for PWR BTTM on this upcoming tour. It Fucking sucks for everyone involved and in light of the allegations I can't comfortably continue. I hope that truth is found/admitted and I'm incredibly disappointed at this type of shit continuously happening. I love all of you."

The second band scheduled to support PWR BTTM on the road, New York's T-Rextasy, has also withdrawn, noting they had been warned of Hopkins' reputation.

In a Medium post about the controversy, Bandcamp managing editor and partially Chicago-based writer Jes Skolnik noted T-Rextasy’s confirmation and pushed back against what they saw as a strongly lacking response from PWR BTTM:

“There is an outright lie in the statement, which they’re going to have to address; as multiple sources have confirmed now, people knew about this beforehand, including at least one member of the band. There should have been a commitment to change and accountability made at that time, even if it wasn’t public, and while the past can’t be changed, the band needs to address this in the present.”

Update: Jezebel interviewed a woman who describes having been assaulted by Hopkins:

"Jen said she initially thought they seemed “like an okay person... because of what they preach,” referring to the band’s vocal interest in social justice. After Hopkins took Jen home they allegedly made sexually aggressive advances and started having sex with her without permission while also refusing to wear protection. Later, while she was asleep, Jen said she woke up to Hopkins trying to have sex with her again.

“I just felt totally powerless in the situation, first due to physicality because they are so much bigger than me in size and also social status,” she told Jezebel. “I was trying to be okay with whatever was going on."