Posted on 07/21/2023 4:10:31 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A long-time Pittsburgh punk rock outfit has disbanded after a woman alleged that its lead singer raped her years ago.
A July 19 statement on Anti-Flag's Patreon page announced that the band had disbanded, adding that the page would be removed after all patrons received refunds. The band's website and social media accounts have also disappeared. This all happened after a recent podcast episode featured a woman who indirectly accused frontman Justin Sane of violently attacking and raping her in a hotel room.
On July 19, the podcast Enough, which covers abuse in the music industry, spoke with Kristina Sarhadi, a New York-based therapist and social worker. Over the course of the episode, Sarhadi recounts how, while attending a show in Brooklyn several years ago, the lead singer of a band invited her to a party, after which he lured her back to his hotel, plied her with alcohol, and then locked and assaulted her in his room.
While Sarhadi never identifies her attacker, users on Reddit were quick to point out that it could be Sane, whose real name is Justin Geever. That the band's break-up aligns with the release of the Enough episode featuring Sarhadi appears more than coincidental.
The break-up was announced during Anti-Flag's current European tour, and months before the band was set to tour with The Bouncing Souls. A representative from Better Artists, a music management company that represents The Bouncing Souls, told Pittsburgh City Paper via email, "This is a Bouncing Souls headline tour in support of their new album. It is still very much happening. That being said, [Anti-Flag] is no longer a support artist on the tour."
City Paper also reached out to Anti-Flag's record label A-F Records and Spinefarm Records, which is releasing the band's upcoming album Lies They Tell Our Children, for comment, but did not hear back by the deadline. Pittsburgh punk band Anti-Flag breaks up suddenly amid rape allegations CP Photo: Jared Wickerham Anti-Flag The news came as a shock to fans given that Anti-Flag voiced strong pro-feminist views in many of its songs, including the anthem "Feminism Is For Everybody (With A Beating Heart And A Functioning Brain)." In a 2012 interview with City Paper, Sane voiced support for then-incumbent President Barack Obama, adding that he didn't want people like then-Republican presidential candidate and Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum to be in power because he "tells rape victims to 'make the best of a bad situation.'"
Jon Nix, an Ohio-based filmmaker and punk fan, directed the 2020 documentary Beyond Barricades: The Story of Anti-Flag, described as covering the Pittsburgh band’s long-term political and musical work. Nix tells City Paper that he and others in the community are "all very shocked."
"It’s a huge disappointment," says Nix. "I feel awful for anyone he has hurt. And I’m sad for all the people in the band and crew who were dedicating their lives to music and activism. His actions have tainted and undermined all of that."
However, users on social media state that the allegations come as no surprise given the history of violence against women in the punk scene, pointing out that it resulted in the formation of female-forward music movements like riot grrrl.
Since forming in Pittsburgh 35 years ago, Anti-Flag, which consists of Sane along with fellow members Chris Head, Pat Thetic, and Chris Barker, has released dozens of albums, signed to the major record label RCA, and toured all over the world. Despite their fame, they retained a close relationship with their hometown, even headlining the local punk showcase ANTIfest and earning the title of Best Legacy Band in City Paper's 2020 readers' poll.
Well duh. That sort of thing is all too common with womxn’s right lib assclowns.
Santorim is laughing his head off. Hypocrite liars!
A feminist man is a wimp trying to get into women’s pants.
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