Last year, All Time Low guitarist Jack Barakat was accused of sexual abuse and "inappropriate behaviour" with underage girls in a viral TikTok, which in turn spawned further accusations from a number of anonymous online accounts. At the time, the band issued a statement denying the allegations, calling them "absolutely and unequivocally false."
Now, as Rolling Stone reports, the band has filed a libel lawsuit that looks to identify the anonymous accusers and, per the suit, "establish the unambiguous truth and quash these malicious lies so that they won't be repeated in the future."
The suit was filed by all four members of the band — Jack Barakat, Alex Gaskarth, Zack Merrick and Rian Dawson — and says that they intend to "utilize discovery including subpoenas to uncover the identities of those that defamed them."
"Regrettably, this is the only course remaining to properly restore their reputations and repair the damage to their business," the suit reads. "[The band] will then donate any proceeds derived from this litigation to charities that support victims of sexual abuse."
The complaint continues, "[We have] no choice but to mobilize and utilize the civil court system to identify the culprits, prove that the defamatory statements are false, and seek justice."
The lawsuit targets three individual accounts, on both TikTok and Twitter, that came forward with abuse allegations in October 2021. Read Exclaim!'s breakdown of the allegations here.
After the claims first surfaced, multiple openers set to play All Time Low's fall 2021 tour dropped off the bill. The band proceeded to play the shows as scheduled.
Now, as Rolling Stone reports, the band has filed a libel lawsuit that looks to identify the anonymous accusers and, per the suit, "establish the unambiguous truth and quash these malicious lies so that they won't be repeated in the future."
The suit was filed by all four members of the band — Jack Barakat, Alex Gaskarth, Zack Merrick and Rian Dawson — and says that they intend to "utilize discovery including subpoenas to uncover the identities of those that defamed them."
"Regrettably, this is the only course remaining to properly restore their reputations and repair the damage to their business," the suit reads. "[The band] will then donate any proceeds derived from this litigation to charities that support victims of sexual abuse."
The complaint continues, "[We have] no choice but to mobilize and utilize the civil court system to identify the culprits, prove that the defamatory statements are false, and seek justice."
The lawsuit targets three individual accounts, on both TikTok and Twitter, that came forward with abuse allegations in October 2021. Read Exclaim!'s breakdown of the allegations here.
After the claims first surfaced, multiple openers set to play All Time Low's fall 2021 tour dropped off the bill. The band proceeded to play the shows as scheduled.
