Arcade Hearth Singer Responds To 4 Sexual Misconduct Allegations – And His Bandmate/Spouse Reacts!

[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

Win Butler, frontman of Arcade Hearth, is being accused by a number of individuals of sexual misconduct — all of which came about whereas he has been with his spouse and bandmate, Régine Chassagne.

Now, a rock star going out on on his spouse could also be disappointing, but it surely isn’t probably the most stunning superstar information of all time, even for such a household unit as Arcade Hearth. These allegations, nevertheless, transcend simply extramarital affairs. That is misconduct described by 4 individuals as habits that descends all the way in which from unbalanced energy dynamics to sexual assault.

Related: Cardi B GOES OFF On Rumor Offset Cheated On Her With Saweetie!

The allegations have been revealed by music magazine Pitchfork over the weekend, in an exposé that options the tales of three ladies who say they’d sexual relationships with Win in some unspecified time in the future within the time interval from 2016 to 2020. Whereas the relationships started with consent, they’ve since come to view them as problematic attributable to varied elements, together with excessive age gaps (the ladies have been between 18 and 23 — when Win was 36 to 39) — not to mention the very fact he’s been married to his band’s different singer since 2003. A fourth individual, nevertheless, who identifies as gender fluid and makes use of they/them pronouns, says Win sexually assaulted them on two events. Pitchfork vetted these tales by chatting with family and friends members of the accusers who have been conscious of the tales on the time, in addition to taking a look at full-on receipts, within the type of textual content messages and DMs.

Within the face of that proof, Win has already responded by means of a disaster PR supervisor. He has denied the assault however confirmed many elements of the tales, together with that he selected sexual interactions from individuals apart from his spouse a number of occasions. Nevertheless, whereas he admitted to sexual relationships, he stated in all instances they have been consensual AND claims he didn’t provoke any of them. See the tales, his response to every one, AND Régine’s assertion (beneath)…

Twice Her Age

Be aware: All of the accusers have chosen to stay nameless. Pitchfork has given every one a pseudonym for readability.

Stella met Win in 2016 when she was 18 years previous. She posted pictures of him and Régine from that 12 months’s annual POP vs. Jock charity occasion. Win recollects:

“This lady caught my eye and smiled at me after I was milling round at a charity basketball occasion that we had achieved, and he or she tagged me on Instagram.”

He DMed her, in keeping with screenshots of messages she shared, writing to this younger fan:

“Hey that is win. I used to be trying by means of pictures of pop vs jock and remembered that you just appeared tremendous acquainted for some cause, and I noticed your superb costume from the reflektor tour. So nice! Anyway all the perfect.”

Innocuous sufficient. But it surely didn’t finish there. In accordance with Stella’s shared messages, the guitarist invited her to come back have a drink on the bar he and his spouse personal, which she did. Then he gave her his cellphone quantity — and if that alone weren’t a sufficiently big purple flag, he wrote together with it:

“I’m a really personal individual and would respect it very a lot when you didn’t discuss to your mates about me! Hope every thing is nice :)”

Oof. Let’s not neglect, this man is married and twice her age.

Quickly he started, in keeping with what she shared, sending her sexually express messages, which she says have been unbidden. In a single message again to him, she says:

“Sorry I actually hate sexting”

So proper then and there she’s speaking that she’s uncomfortable. Apparently he both didn’t perceive or didn’t care. As a result of the messages allegedly continued — and included pictures of his genitalia. For additional proof, Stella confirmed dated Fb messages she despatched to a good friend in October 2016 by which she wrote:

“Win butler requested me for nudes and tried to sext me. And I instructed him I used to be actually uncomfortable with that. I don’t actually know what to do now. He retains texting me. Again and again.”

There was no dialogue of her age, however Win instructed the journal he knew in regards to the age distinction:

“I googled her and knew that she was 18.”

Win additionally claims the sexting started even earlier than that first drink — and says she got here onto him:

“Later, we met up for a drink and he or she received fairly drunk and was asking me forcefully if there was someplace we may sleep collectively. I didn’t really feel proper about it and put her in a cab and made certain she made it residence protected.”

Stella confirms she was drunk and doesn’t keep in mind every thing — however is bound she wouldn’t have come onto him like that, saying it’s “simply not who I’m.”

Win does acknowledge he was mistaken to begin sexting her after that evening:

“I used to be drunk after I texted her and misinterpret her not answering that she simply didn’t get my texts. I actually misinterpret that she was uncomfortable with that second spherical of sexting and ultimately assumed that I will need to have harm her emotions by not reciprocating her request to sleep with me.”

The “relationship” with Stella didn’t go any additional. She says after a pair months she “couldn’t take it anymore”:

“I positively stated explicitly that the texts and footage weren’t wished, however that didn’t cease him.”

But it surely took blocking two completely different numbers earlier than he stopped, she says. A couple of 12 months later, in September 2017 she attended an Arcade Hearth live performance the place he had put her on the visitor listing. She says that was not as a result of they have been cool however as a result of she “wished to at the least get one thing out of the connection.”

Reflecting on the dynamics, regardless of a distinction of reminiscence, Win now agrees he was within the mistaken, saying:

“I didn’t notice the importance of the age distinction on the time. I can now see the way it might be overwhelming considering again to after I was 18, however on the time I didn’t respect that.”

Sarah and Fiona

Sarah and Fiona‘s tales have been paired attributable to their similarity. Each women met Win because of him responding to them after they messaged him on IG about their love of the band. Fiona was 20 when she started speaking to the Every thing Now singer in 2017; Sarah was 23, and her interactions started in 2018.

For each ladies, good interactions turned darkish as Win allegedly started to solicit sexually express movies. He requested each, in keeping with their shared messages, for very particular poses and outfits and features learn to the digital camera.

Sarah says she went by means of with it although she was uncomfortable — as a result of it was Arcade Hearth, he was her hero:

“I did every thing as a result of it was him. I don’t like doing any form of video stuff, particularly sexual stuff. I keep in mind being so nervous and so ashamed that I did it. I’d be like, ‘I don’t really feel properly.’ And he’d be like, ‘Ship me an image proper now.’ He used me, mainly, as his private therapist, and simple method to get intercourse over the cellphone. The FaceTimes can be strictly: he will get off, hangs up. I felt sick daily after I did it.”

Win remembers this very otherwise. Whereas Sarah was made uncomfortable by the cybersex, he says he was made uncomfortable by her real-world proximity:

“I really like our followers however this was an unhealthy fandom. We began sexting and speaking lots, however I turned more and more uncomfortable when she began coming to all my DJ occasions and displaying as much as my restaurant a number of occasions, to the purpose I needed to inform safety to verify she didn’t get too shut.”

Uh huh. Effectively, whereas we’re certain he was uncomfortable by this, it doesn’t imply she was the one within the mistaken. He wouldn’t be the primary man who requested a girl for sexual gratification solely to later really feel discomfort when she dares have interaction in real-life acknowledgement. Now, Sarah confirmed she went to 2 of his DJ occasions — one in Montreal in August 2019 and one other in LA in September 2019 — however these are public occasions, they’re not precisely his residence tackle. In fact, even when he was making her uncomfortable on-line, he may nonetheless be cautious of her getting too shut IRL — in spite of everything, she may actually blow up his life if his spouse came upon! (As an additional wrinkle, Sarah says she went to the restaurant as a result of her boyfriend labored there, and he or she received freebies.)

As for Fiona, after her personal sexting interactions, the 20-year-old truly started a bodily, in-person sexual relationship with Win, which he confirms. He says in regards to the relationship:

“This was consensual. We might sext and ultimately slept collectively a pair occasions. The primary time, I noticed she had a tattoo of my band, which truthfully felt a bit bizarre.”

Actually, dude? You’re in an enormous band that’s been round for like twenty years. We’re certain plenty of individuals have Arcade Hearth tattoos.

The dishonest and secrecy have been tougher for Fiona than she anticipated; she says she tried suicide with an overdose of Tylenol after one evening having intercourse with him in her room in 2017:

“I felt extremely low. The toll of getting to maintain every thing secret, always pushing my wants apart in an effort to appease him, lack of boundaries, and the guilt of being the opposite lady was getting too onerous to disregard.”

Win says she didn’t inform him about this on the time — however did ultimately attain out:

“Later, she messaged me after saying that the expertise of hooking up with me had been tough on her mentally, which was actually shocking and really unhappy to me. We instantly talked on the cellphone and though she indicated her despair was not associated to me, I left that dialog dedicated to by no means sleeping with somebody once more that I essentially knew so little about.”

Or possibly simply by no means sleep with somebody who isn’t your spouse? Only a thought…

Win continued:

“It actually shook me. Though she repeated it was unrelated to me, she was affected by psychological sickness, to which I’m very sympathetic. After this we wrote for pages and pages like the buddies we had grow to be and the sensation I had was that one thing had been healed in each of us. We talked about getting espresso subsequent time I used to be in Vancouver, which I meant to do earlier than I heard of those accusations.”

Fiona was proven this assertion and responded about her despair:

“It was completely associated to him.”

Sexual Assault?

Lily‘s story is completely different. They weren’t even an enormous fan of Arcade Hearth, although they after all knew Win Butler as an area Montreal superstar. They went to a live performance there in January 2015 — and gave the singer their enterprise card. Win recollects Lily “flirted with me all evening” — they are saying it was extra pleasant than flirtatious. Both method, Win — then 34 — did use the cardboard, emailing the 21-year-old artwork pupil the very subsequent day.

The 2 started exchanging textual content messages over a pair weeks. Early on, Lily set a boundary, writing:

“Not that I’ve been making it significantly clear but when that is about intercourse for you I believe you discovered me on the mistaken time.”

They went out on what Butler believes was a date, assembly for drinks, simply the 2 of them. Lily says it couldn’t have been a date as a result of they each had important others. One main discrepancy: Win says they kissed on that first assembly, Lily is adamant “that didn’t occur.”

They went for dinner collectively quickly after. Butler recollects they “flirted all meal,” Lily disagrees. They declare the Reflektor singer caught his fingers down their pants with out consent on the automotive journey residence. Butler says he recollects placing his hand on their inside thigh however NOT down their pants. Listening to this, Lily says they might have been mistaken and it could have been exterior the pants — but it surely was positively “very aggressive” and aimed on the crotch. Win does concede Lily rebuffed this advance however remembers it very otherwise, recalling:

“[Lily] regarded me within the eyes and stated ‘not within the automotive’ in a method that appeared flirtatious.”

They agree there was a goodnight kiss after the automotive journey, however whereas Butler believed it was an indication “the attraction was mutual,” Lily recollects:

“I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t reciprocate. It was very quick and uncomfortable as a result of it was so unhealthy.”

Win acted rapidly on what he thought was occurring between the 2. He stopped by Lily’s residence only a couple days later, regardless of them saying to not as a result of they have been too busy with faculty. Win confirms this, saying:

“I occurred to be by [their] condo just a few days later and requested if [Lily] was free. [Lily] stated [they were] busy with schoolwork and I stated I’d simply say hello since I occurred to be proper there.”

What occurred subsequent is, in keeping with Lily, fully nonconsensual:

“I opened my door and he pinned me up towards the wall and was aggressively grabbing my physique and sticking his tongue down my throat. It was an try to be attractive, and it was so not OK within the context.”

Win recollects the identical occasion otherwise, saying:

“When [Lily] opened the door we began kissing instantly…I don’t keep in mind who initiated it but it surely was positively mutual.”

And for this reason confirming consent explicitly is so essential!

Lily says they requested Win to depart however as an alternative he continued:

“Ultimately he pulled me onto his lap on my sofa. I don’t know if he was holding me by the waist or what, however I used to be bodily constrained by him as he was placing his hand down my pants. In some unspecified time in the future he tried to go down on me.”

That’s after they lastly made it unequivocal for anybody — shouting at him to depart:

“The anger and the facility in my voice stunned me. I’ll always remember it.”

It lastly labored, Lily says; Win received up angrily, and “berated” them for denying his advances. Win remembers your complete incident otherwise. He even says he stopped and made certain there was consent:

“We moved to [Lily’s] mattress, but it surely felt just like the temper was bizarre so I ended and requested if [Lily] was OK. It appeared like possibly issues have been shifting a bit quick. [Lily] by no means requested me to depart, and I by no means berated [them]. I did specific some real confusion as to how the temper had shifted so all of a sudden and grow to be awkward. I stated it was no massive deal in any respect. I ended and I left.”

“The temper was bizarre.” That’s how a lot these two weren’t on the identical web page.

Lily then texted Win to apologize for spurning him later:

“He thought my habits was bizarre, so possibly it was truly me within the mistaken.”

At present, they now not really feel any duty for the miscommunication. They now view the occasions within the automotive and the condo as sexual assault:

“Wanting again, it’s fairly simple to determine the manipulation on the core of that change. It’s additionally actually clear that it labored. I continued to doubt the validity of my behaviors and my assertion of my ‘no’ and lack of consent for months after.”

For his half, Win recollects:

“[Lily] wrote me to apologize the following day. I figured it wasn’t a match, and never an enormous deal. I by no means compelled myself on [them], and when the temper modified I ended and checked in and left with no drama or challenge. I’d by no means assault anybody and I didn’t assault [Lily].”

A Consensual Affair

It was solely after Stella posted on social media in 2020 about her expertise that each one the accusers discovered each other, sharing their tales with each other first, then lastly with Pitchfork.

There was one different lady who spoke to the journal, although she didn’t have the identical tackle her related expertise, full with getting despatched nudes. She instructed the outlet she additionally slept with Win and nonetheless thinks of it as consensual — however understands the non-public politics of all of it are messy:

“It’s this actually sophisticated factor. Sure, it was consensual, but additionally, there’s a aspect to it that was nearly like, I couldn’t say no.”

Win contends all of those relationships have been consensual however says he sees how the inequality in each age and standing made the encounters inappropriate.

Win’s Full Assertion

The Arcade Hearth frontman despatched a prolonged assertion centered extra on the impact all of this had on his longtime spouse and bandmate. He wrote:

“I really like Régine with all of my coronary heart.”

Simply not all of his physique?

“Now we have been collectively for twenty years, she is my associate in music and in life, my soulmate and I’m fortunate and grateful to have her by my aspect. However at occasions, it has been tough to steadiness being the daddy, husband, and bandmate that I wish to be. At present I wish to clear the air about my life, poor judgment, and errors I’ve made.

I’ve had consensual relationships exterior of my marriage.

There is no such thing as a simple method to say this, and the toughest factor I’ve ever achieved is having to share this with my son. The vast majority of these relationships have been quick lived, and my spouse is conscious — our marriage has, prior to now, been extra unconventional than some.”

Wait, is he implying they’ve had an open relationship prior to now? In that case, he ought to come out and say that, as a result of it actually doesn’t come throughout in the remainder of this. He continued by as soon as once more denying there was ever something nonconsensual:

“I’ve linked with individuals in individual, at exhibits, and thru social media, and I’ve shared messages of which I’m not proud. Most significantly, each single one in all these interactions has been mutual and at all times between consenting adults. It’s deeply revisionist, and admittedly simply mistaken, for anybody to counsel in any other case.

I’ve by no means touched a girl towards her will, and any implication that I’ve is solely false. I vehemently deny any suggestion that I compelled myself on a girl or demanded sexual favors. That merely, and unequivocally, by no means occurred.”

Nevertheless, he does apologize, saying:

“Whereas these relationships have been all consensual, I’m very sorry to anybody who I’ve harm with my habits. Life is crammed with large ache and error, and I by no means wish to be a part of inflicting another person’s ache.”

It is a good begin, but it surely does rapidly grow to be about giving “context” to the habits — of being abused and later being deeply upset a few private tragedy:

“I’ve lengthy struggled with psychological well being points and the ghosts of childhood abuse. In my 30s, I began ingesting as I handled the heaviest despair of my life after our household skilled a miscarriage. None of that is meant to excuse my habits, however I do wish to give some context and share what was occurring in my life round this time. I now not acknowledged myself or the individual I had grow to be. Régine waited patiently watching me undergo and tried to assist me as greatest as she may. I do know it will need to have been so onerous for her to observe the individual she liked so misplaced.”

OK, he says these points usually are not meant to excuse the habits. He then went on:

“I’ve been working onerous on myself – not out of concern or disgrace, however as a result of I’m a human being who desires to enhance regardless of my flaws and harm. I’ve spent the previous few years since Covid hit attempting to avoid wasting that a part of my soul. I’ve put important time and power into remedy and therapeutic, together with attending AA. I’m extra conscious now of how my public persona can distort relationships even when a scenario feels pleasant and optimistic to me. I’m very grateful to Régine, my household, my pricey associates, and my therapist, who’ve helped me again from the abyss that I felt sure at occasions would devour me. The bond I share with my bandmates and the extremely deep connection I’ve made with an viewers by means of sharing music has actually saved my life. As I look to the longer term, I’m persevering with to be taught from my errors and dealing onerous to grow to be a greater individual, somebody my son will be happy with.”

Lastly he apologizes once more, to everybody, writing:

“I say to you all my associates, household, to anybody I’ve harm and to the individuals who love my music and are shocked and dissatisfied by this report: I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the ache I brought on – I’m sorry I wasn’t extra conscious and tuned in to the impact I’ve on individuals – I f**ked up, and whereas not an excuse, I’ll proceed to look ahead and heal what will be healed, and be taught from previous experiences. I can do higher and I’ll do higher.”

Régine’s Assertion

Régine shared her personal assertion with Pitchfork in response to the article. She wrote about standing behind her man and his model of occasions:

“Win is my soulmate, my songwriting associate, my husband, the daddy of my stunning boy. He has been my associate in life and in music for 20 years. And for all the love in our lives, I’ve additionally watched him undergo by means of immense ache. I’ve stood by him as a result of I do know he is an effective man who cares about this world, our band, his followers, associates, and our household. I’ve identified Win since earlier than we have been ‘well-known,’ after we have been simply atypical school college students. I do know what’s in his coronary heart, and I do know he has by no means, and would by no means, contact a girl with out her consent and I’m sure he by no means did. He has misplaced his method and he has discovered his method again. I really like him and love the life we’ve got created collectively.”

Wow. Loads to unpack right here.

What do YOU consider the allegations? Does this rise to sexual assault? Misconduct? Tell us any takes you could have on the tales and Win’s response within the feedback (beneath).

[Image via Sakura/Lu Chau/WENN.]