UPDATE: The Football Club have now released a statement confirming they have pulled out of Splendour In The Grass and all future shows. Triple j Unearthed has also released a statement saying that the band pulling out of Splendour “is the right course of action at this time”.
UPDATE: The Football Club Guitarist Leaves Band Following Abuse Allegations Against Bandmate
ORIGINAL STORY: Triple j has confirmed that Melbourne band The Football Club will remain on this year’s Splendour In The Grass lineup after allegations of abuse were made against a member of the band.
Since The Football Club joined the 2017 Splendour lineup last week, allegations of physical and emotional abuse involving one band member have been posted on social media in response to the band winning triple j Unearthed‘s latest Splendour competition, which gives up-and-coming local acts the chance to join the Splendour In The Grass lineup.
After receiving a number of negative comments in response to The Football Club joining the Splendour lineup, Triple j Unearthed has announced that the band will remain on this year’s Splendour roster.
“We’re aware of the issue and we understand the band have made a statement and are engaging privately with the people involved,” the broadcaster says. “They are still our comp winners and will be on the Splendour line up.”
Triple j Unearthed has also addressed allegations that it removed negative comments about The Football Club from its Facebook page, saying, “There’s been talk about us removing posts relating to our winning Splendour band. We can’t display any posts or comments that are potentially defamatory.”
Music Feeds has spoken with two individuals who have both made allegations of emotional and physical abuse against the member of The Football Club.
In a statement, the band say the allegations made against “members of The Football Club” are “untrue and defamatory”.
“These statements are without any foundation, designed to cause harm to the reputation of The Football Club and its members, and The Football Club absolutely deny them,” they say.
The Football Club say that the band member accused of abuse is also “a victim of sexual assault”, and that the group find the allegations against them “horrifying in nature, and completely untrue in content”.
“The band has worked tirelessly to be a voice for the LGBTQI community and for victims of sexual assault, and feel that these statements are an unjustified and unfair attempt to undermine their positive work,” they say.
“We urge anyone who is the victim of assault to seek support and advice through the appropriate channels.”
In response to the allegations against a member of The Football Club, the band were also dropped from supporting Adelaide rock outfit The Hard Aches on the remaining two dates of their latest tour over the weekend.
In a statement shared prior to their Adelaide show on Friday night, The Hard Aches said, “In light of recent events, The Football Club will not be performing at tonight’s show at Adelaide Unibar or at any of the remaining shows.
“We as a band feel very strongly about issues surrounding domestic violence, abuse and sexual assault, and until these issues are resolved we feel this is the best course of action.”
The Hard Aches also offered fans full refunds if they no longer wished to attend their Adelaide or Perth shows.
Splendour In The Grass declined to comment for this story. Music Feeds has contacted triple j for further comment.
Read The Football Club’s statement in full, below.
If you or anyone you know needs help or information regarding mental health, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
The Football Club Statement (16/06/17)
Over the past 24 hours, certain parties have published untrue and defamatory statements relating to the conduct of members of The Football Club.
These statements are without any foundation, designed to cause harm to the reputation of The Football Club and its members, and The Football Club absolutely deny them.
As a victim of sexual assault, Ruby and the band find these claims horrifying in nature, and completely untrue in content. The band has worked tirelessly to be a voice for the LGBTQI community and for victims of sexual assault, and feel that these statements are an unjustified and unfair attempt to undermine their positive work. We’re pursuing these matters through official channels currently.
We urge anyone who is the victim of assault to seek support and advice through the appropriate channels – http://www.sass.org.au/directory/
