Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler responded to allegations of sexual assault by multiple people, saying the encounters were "consensual."
The allegations were made by three women and one person who identifies as gender-fluid, in an interview with Pitchfork published Saturday. The alleged encounters with the musician occurred from 2016 to 2020. The accusers, who were between the ages of 18 to 23 at the time, described how Butler reportedly used his position as a musician to pressure them into sexual situations.
One woman using the pseudonym Sarah claimed Butler, who is married to Arcade Fire's Régine Chassagne, pushed her to have video sex with him.
"I did everything because it was him," Sarah told Pitchfork. "I don't like doing any kind of video stuff, especially sexual stuff. I remember being so nervous and so ashamed that I did it. I'd be like, 'I don't feel well.' And he'd be like, 'Send me a picture right now.' He used me, basically, as his personal therapist, and easy way to get sex over the phone."
Another woman going by the name Fiona described harboring suicidal thoughts after having sex with Butler after one of the band's concerts in 2017.
"I felt incredibly low," she said. "The toll of having to keep everything secret, constantly pushing my needs aside in order to appease him, lack of boundaries, and the guilt of being the other woman was getting too hard to ignore."
Butler addressed the allegations in statements to Pitchfork.
"I love our fans but this was an unhealthy fandom," he said of his encounters with Sarah. "We started sexting and talking a lot, but I became increasingly uncomfortable when she started coming to all my DJ events and showing up to my restaurant multiple times, to the point I had to tell security to make sure she didn't get too close."
Butler went on to describe his interactions with Fiona as "a little weird."
"This was consensual. We would sext and eventually slept together a couple times. The first time, I realized she had a tattoo of my band, which honestly felt a little weird," he said. Butler said he discussed the encounter with Fiona and they grew a friendship.
"We immediately talked on the phone and although she indicated her depression was not related to me, I left that conversation committed to never sleeping with someone again that I fundamentally knew so little about. It really shook me," he said. "Although she repeated it was unrelated to me, she was suffering from mental illness, to which I am very sympathetic."
Butler admitted to Pitchfork that he had "consensual relationships outside of my marriage," but denied any allegations of sexual assault.
"I vehemently deny any suggestion that I forced myself on a woman or demanded sexual favors. That simply, and unequivocally, never happened," Butler said.
Butler said he struggled with alcoholism and mental health issues, and while he did not intend to use that as an excuse for his behavior, he wanted to "give some context and share what was happening" in his life. Butler added that he had "put significant time and energy into therapy and healing, including attending AA."
"I am more aware now of how my public persona can distort relationships even if a situation feels friendly and positive to me," he said.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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