At a Paramore show in Utah recently, a man verbally and physically assaulted several women, including a queer couple. The couple, who had gone to get a drink, were accosted by a man who called them slurs and charged towards them. Thankfully he was stopped by security before he could harm the couple, resulting in him losing his pants and a large tussle that ended with the man being removed from the premises.
The couple was unable to watch the second half of the show. Paramore’s shows are often seen as a safe zone for queer fans, so the fact that this man decided to show his true colors as a bigot is astounding. It is horrifying to think that a homophobe would think a Paramore show is a safe place for them.
Frontwoman Hayley Williams later put out a statement that reads, “After last night’s show in SLC, we were made aware of an incident that happened in the crowd while we were on stage. A man physically and verbally assaulted multiple women, including an engaged couple at our show. Our security team and venue staff were made aware and were able to restrain and remove him. We did not realize this was happening, as the incident took place out of view from stage. Had we seen any of this happening, we would have stopped the show until the situation was under control. PARAMORE DOES NOT CONDONE violence, homophobia, or bigotry of any kind. It is supremely unwelcome in our community and has no place at our shows.” They continued, “To make things as clear as possible: Paramore shows are meant to be a safe place for people. If you can’t respect that, do not come.”
The statement is loud and clear. Paramore is for the LGBTQ community, not bigots, homophobes, transphobes, or racists.
Photo courtesy of Paramore’s Twitter
