Long-running act the Casualties have more than just a legacy of playing raucous street punk. Frontman Jorge Herrera, the band's only active original member, has also been followed by some allegations of sexual abuse. These concerns caused the band's upcoming Halifax show to be cancelled.
Though no official charges have been made against Herrera, the claims started in 2013 with a now infamous blog post from a woman writing under the pseudonym Beth. She accused Herrera of sexually assaulting her as a 16-year-old girl.
Since then, the Casualties issued a lengthy statement denying the claims. Meanwhile, a large movement called Boycott the Casualties has started on Facebook, while a long list of (mostly anonymous) claims about Herrera have been collected on Tumblr.
The Coast reached out to Halifax promoter Troy Arsenault, who booked the Casualties at the Seahorse Tavern on August 23, after opening band Spew dropped off the bill over the allegations. " We're currently going through the situation here right now," Arsenault told the weekly. "It's all fresh to me.... This is obviously a concern. Especially when it pops up out of the blue."
Since The Coast first posted the story, they've since pointed out that the Seahorse Tavern have cancelled the event on Facebook. It's also no longer listed on the events section of their website.
This is the first show of the Casualties' Canadian tour to be cancelled due to the sexual assault allegations, though some debates have broken out on various Facebook event pages. The band has shows scheduled all over Canada.
Though no official charges have been made against Herrera, the claims started in 2013 with a now infamous blog post from a woman writing under the pseudonym Beth. She accused Herrera of sexually assaulting her as a 16-year-old girl.
Since then, the Casualties issued a lengthy statement denying the claims. Meanwhile, a large movement called Boycott the Casualties has started on Facebook, while a long list of (mostly anonymous) claims about Herrera have been collected on Tumblr.
The Coast reached out to Halifax promoter Troy Arsenault, who booked the Casualties at the Seahorse Tavern on August 23, after opening band Spew dropped off the bill over the allegations. " We're currently going through the situation here right now," Arsenault told the weekly. "It's all fresh to me.... This is obviously a concern. Especially when it pops up out of the blue."
Since The Coast first posted the story, they've since pointed out that the Seahorse Tavern have cancelled the event on Facebook. It's also no longer listed on the events section of their website.
This is the first show of the Casualties' Canadian tour to be cancelled due to the sexual assault allegations, though some debates have broken out on various Facebook event pages. The band has shows scheduled all over Canada.