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The Killers tour: serious sexual misconduct claim ‘entirely unfounded’ | Music


Lawyers for rock band the Killers have said they were “unable to find any corroboration whatsoever” of a report of serious sexual misconduct by the Las Vegas group’s 2009 touring crew.

On 28 July, sound engineer Chez Cherrie shared allegations that during a concert in Milwaukee, a front-of-house engineer told the crew that there was “a girl set up in dressing room A” and that crew members could put their name on a list to be called “when it’s [their]” turn”. She alleged that crew members made crude remarks about their experiences with the woman, and said that venue security expressed concern about the woman being left naked and unconscious in the dressing room.

She claimed the band “would bring drunken groupies to our bus and laugh when the girls were too drunk to realise everyone was making fun of them” and alleged that crew members were offered financial bonuses for bringing backstage women who were willing to perform oral sex on band members, or shower naked for them. She described an atmosphere on tour that was misogynistic.

On 29 July, the Killers announced that they were opening an internal investigation into Cherrie’s claims. The band’s legal team, Reynolds & Associates, have said that after interviewing the band, crew members, tour management, production, band assistants, third-party vendors, audio crew, venue staff and security, catering and guests, they found the “serious accusations of sexual misconduct and a sexual assault backstage … to be entirely unfounded”.

Their report stated that “it was not verified but assessed as feasible” that Cherrie was party to discussions about receiving bonuses for supplying women, but that such conversations did not come from “any of the musicians” or tour management. It acknowledged that “the idea of the band paying [crew] extra to ‘bring back girls’ or ‘have one waiting in the shower’ etc was an in-joke based upon urban legends of tours from an earlier era – ie roadie folklore – and not something any of them actually did, were ever asked to do, or ever attempted to do”.

It confirmed that a front-of-house engineer broadcast a radio transmission about a “lineup” in “dressing room A” on the audio team’s radio channel, but said it could not be corroborated that there was “ever a list placed on any door or any ‘lineup’ or ‘train’ in any dressing room”. Crew members described the comment as “an attempt at a joke or a ‘hazing’”.

The report stated that venue security denied that anyone had raised concerns about “a drunk, naked girl” in a dressing room. Members of the venue catering team, which replenished supplies throughout the day of the concert, said they did not “see or hear of a drunk or naked woman” and that any such incident would have been reported.

The band’s legal team said it had been able to trace the woman who received backstage passes to that night’s show, whom Cherrie feared had been mistreated, and “confirm with her that she did not experience, witness or hear about a sexual assault”.

It said that that the front-of-house engineer described by Cherrie was considered a “problematic work-mate” whose “pattern of poor management … and a series of sexist remarks and rude comments, caused the female crew member on the audio team great distress”. The individual’s contract was terminated in 2013.

It further acknowledged Cherrie’s account of a misogynist atmosphere among the touring crew, saying that “vulgar language was sometimes used and that crass jokes were made and perpetuated on occasion”. Such behaviour, according to multiple current crew members, was now “extremely rare”. The band’s tour management organisation said it had become “increasingly vigilant” regarding this matter and provided documentation “verifying that aggressive or derogatory language by crew results in dismissal”.

The group expressed regret that Cherrie was “made to feel unsafe and bullied during her brief time with the band” and understood that it was “not always feasible” for touring crew to raise concerns with superiors. They said they would take immediate action for future tours, implementing an off-site, independent HR contact for members of the touring party to report “concerns of any nature”.

In response to the band’s findings, Cherrie said she was grateful that they had taken her experiences seriously, and that their actions could “potentially lead the industry in a restorative manner so this never happens again”.

Cherrie disagreed with some “generalised statements” in the report, but did not cite specifics. She said she was “beyond relieved” that the report had traced the woman at the centre of the rumours.

Cherrie said she stood by her experiences and said that the “hazing” described in the band’s report reflected a “larger issue” in the music industry, wherein such behaviour was “normal, expected, accepted”. She said she hoped that the industry could “develop a framework of reporting mistreatment and harassment that protects workers and fans and demands accountability of the people in power”.



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