FEATURE: X: Why Abusive and Controversial Male Artists Should Not Be Given a Festival or Recording Platform

FEATURE:

 

 

X

IN THIS PHOTO: Chris Brown

 

Why Abusive and Controversial Male Artists Should Not Be Given a Festival or Recording Platform

_________

I have specified gender here…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Rihanna/PHOTO CREDIT: Fenty Beauty

as one very rarely hears of female and non-binary artists accused of domestic abuse, sexual assault or other forms of abuse and discrimination – including racism and homophobia. The statistics are glaringly skewed against men. Whilst it applies to a very small minatory, there are relatively regular cases of a solo artist or band member accused of abuse, assault or discrimination. Whether that is misogyny and sexism or physical or sexual abuse, it is not good enough for them to offer an apology - after being called out - and expect to slide right back into the industry like nothing has happened. This feature was inspired by tweets posted by broadcaster Emily Pilbeam, in which she highlighted how artists like Chris Brown and Tom Meighan (formerly of Kasabian) are on festival bills, in spite of the fact they have both committed domestic abuse. Brown has been accused on more than one occasion; he assaulted Rihanna in 2009. In spite of the fact Brown has been falsely accused of assault in years since, one only needs to do their research to know that the horrific assault on Rihanna was not a one-off in terms of offesnive or abusive behaviour. Someone with millions of fans and followers, his abusive behaviour should not result in him being given slots at festivals and appear on other artists’ music. Streaming sites will not take down his music but, as someone who has a history of controversy and abuse, why are festivals and artists engaging with him still?! It is reported that Brown has an untreated mental-health disorder, severe sleep deprivation, inappropriate self-medicating and untreated PTSD. According to the court documents, Brown was formally diagnosed with both Bipolar II and PTSD at the unnamed rehab facility. This is never an accuse to explain behaviour or diminish it!

Unfortunately, there are other artists who will want to work with Brown. Chlöe (of Chloe x Halle), released her debut solo album, In Pieces, last month. One of its singles, How Does It Feel, features Chris Brown. She is entitled to be a fan of his work but, as an artist with a lot of young girls and women as fans, it seems like a bad and ill-advised move. To give him that platform and exposure to an audience that will also be fans of Rihanna. Brown has been booked at festivals such as Lovers & Friends in the U.S., in addition to Wireless in the U.K. Brown was banned there for thirteen years for assaulting Rihanna, but why is there this statute of limitations where now he is clear to perform? He is still making headlines for unseemly, controversial and abusive behaviour, so why are festivals still associating with him? The fact he featured on a very prominent album recently is bad enough, but Brown is also being given literal platforms around the world. He can tour his own music though, when it comes to festivals, it is troubling artists who have abused women in the past should be allowed back. If the situation was reversed and a woman abused a man, you feel they would be given a lifetime ban!

I have seen people say he has paid his dues and he is popular, and so why should he not be able to perform? Are festivals doing this to make headlines and drum up attention? It seems like they are courting controversy and discussion to draw attention to themselves rather than making any logical booking decision. With so much choice out there, why Is Chris Brown even on the agenda?! Prisoners serve their sentence and are allowed back into society, but the music industry is completely different. Artists have to set an example and have this incredible commercial and creative influence. It sends a very bad and troubling message that abusive men are allowed onto festival bills. Brown is not the only male artists who have been abused women or been accused of sexual assault or misogyny. Not by a long shot! It is a rather long and horrifying list that includes Marilyn Manson, Arcade Fire’s Win Butler, Dizzy Rascal (who is booked to play Margate Summer Series), The Bluetones’ Mark Morriss – most of whom continue to get gigs, festival bookings, and whose music is readily available online. Tom Meighan is another prime example. On 6th July, 2020, it was announced that Meighan was stepping down from Kasabian by mutual consent due to personal issues. The next day, he pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-fiancée on 9th April, 2020. NME reported on the backlash the festival’s organisers have been receiving:

“Organisers have defended their decision to book Tom Meighan as the headline act for a Sheffield festival, following his domestic abuse conviction in 2020.

The former Kasabian frontman was announced over the weekend to be performing at this year’s Be Reyt Festival – which will take place in Sheffield on May 6. However, the decision has sparked backlash from a number of acts and artists, with an online campaign to boycott the festival reportedly been launched.

Meighan was convicted of abusing his partner, Vikki Ager, in 2020 and sentenced at Leicester Magistrates Court to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty.

Around the time of the conviction, he parted ways with Kasabian – the chart-topping band he co-founded in 1997 – and explained that he had struggled “for many years with alcohol addiction” as well as seeing the events as a “wake-up call”. He and Ager went on to be married, with Meighan diagnosed with ADHD and saying that he was “deeply ashamed” of his abusive actions.

Now, three years on, Meighan – having launched his solo career – has been booked as the headline act for Sheffield’s Be Reyt festival, in a decision that the organisers deemed a “second chance”. The store and venue Record Junkee along with festival organisers Network issued a statement, explaining why they booked Meighan as a headline act, and encouraged fans to support the artist as he is “working hard to better himself”.

While speaking of their dedication to supporting multiple genres, subcultures, backgrounds and the LGBTQ+ community within Sheffield, they wrote that “equally important to us is mental health”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Tom Meighan

 It is laughable that, because Meighan has mental-health issues, that this someone exonerates him! It does not exculpate. Many of us (me included) have mental-health issues. I do not abuse and assault people! It is horrible that anyone has to experience mental-health struggles, but millions of people around the world manage to control their temper and do not abuse women. Is his (rather meagre and spent) cache and celebrity a reason why seemingly all has been forgiven?! Again, think about the way a female artists would be treated if they assaulted their partner. They would get longer bans, receive much more vile and consistent online hate, and the repercussions and judgment would be more severe. It doesn’t matter that the Meighan and Ager are married. It doesn’t matter – and I cannot underline this hard enough – that it was a ‘one-off’. Abusing a woman once still makes you an abuser, so it should not be downplayed because they had a ‘slip’ and let their temper get the better of them. Good if they can reconcile and recover, but it sends another horrible message that men can get away with this sort of thing and headline festivals for something as severe as domestic abuse. Men who have been accused of and committed sexual assault still perform and play festivals! Artists are allowed to continue their careers and cannot be banned from releasing music. It is a murky area, but whereas artists like Michael Jackson have been blacklisted on certain radio stations, others who have been accused of sexual abuse or assault continue to be played.

What I come against is that the likes of Chris Brown being invited to play on other artists’ albums. Festivals almost celebrating them booking him, in spite of the fact history cannot erase the memory of what he is done. Someone hardly reformed and evangelic, it sends out a message that you can commit domestic abuse and the repercussions will not be too strict. In fact, there will be a few festivals out there happy to put you on the bill! Same for Tom Meighan. A one-off or not, it does not explain why he assaulted his now-wife, and why a festival would want anything to do with him. Is this going to continue?! It is not the case that these are isolated occurrences. Emily Pilbeam tweeted that she’d like to think people wouldn’t engage with abusers in any way. She asked that, at such a volatile time, is this a way of getting people talking about these artists? Is it a way of trying to redeem them or, in some twisted way, stir controversy and backlash so an ailing or inferior festival gets attention?! The likes of Chris Brown and Tom Meighan should not be allowed on such a big stage when they have abused women. There are so many areas of the music industry that excuse inequality, abuse, discrimination and disgraced male artists. I hope that, given the backlash the festivals that booked Chris Brown and Tom Meighan have received for their baffling decisions, they can correct their policies and…

NOT let it happen again.

Sam Liddicott