Kasabian hot on the heels of Richard Madeley

[Jeanhatchet]

Kasabian issued a woeful tweet statement before Tom Meighan, their singer, was convicted of domestic abuse and (insultingly to his victim) given 200 hours of community service.

Apparently she refused to support a prosecution and so the sentence was lighter. The judge said he "could" have given a jail sentence and of course he SHOULD have.

It takes abused women a long time to look back and dismantle what was happening to them. Whilst they do that they should still receive justice appropriate to the crime against them.

But ... point here is that between men who should know better ... Madeley ... and men who just want to make money and not bother themselves with women's "problems" ...Kasabian .. it's clear that there is still an awful lot of awareness raising to do.

Kasabian initially issued a statement talking about "Personal issues ..affecting his behaviour" without condemning that behaviour or mentioning support for the woman affected by it. They have been slammed extensively and have tried to amend with something even worse. It ignores the victim ... mentions domestic abuse without any level of understanding beyond the words themselves and offers zero apology for the damage they have done to victims with their previously flippant post and without any message of support to Meighan's victim Vicky Agar.

There is still much work to be done.

To be fair Jean is a lot more involved with DV than most of us.

Given she is the OP I am happy to have a second look and see if there is something I missed. Given the usual female socialisation there may well be. I have begun to notice it in myself more and more!

You are talking rubbish OP. Their statement completely condemned his behaviour and was very strong imo. And they kicked him out. Couldn't really have done much more than that. They definitely didn't "excuse his abuse".

Are you definitely taking about the same statement? The one I saw was unequivocal.

@CuriousaboutSamphire

To be fair Jean is a lot more involved with DV than most of us.

Given she is the OP I am happy to have a second look and see if there is something I missed. Given the usual female socialisation there may well be. I have begun to notice it in myself more and more!

Yes that's might be the case, but it also doesn't excuse blaming innocent parties for somehow being responsible for the actions of others.

They've condemned a friend to the point that he has lost his place in the band and that might jeopardise their own future careers. Which at a time which is particularly precarious for the music industry isn't a small action. It is refreshing that they haven't taken the line of sticking by their friend 'cos he's a good bloke really'.

How are you going to get others to make a point of saying dv is bad and not justifiable if you pick holes in the actions of those who do criticise their friends who do so.

I have no idea what's going on in terms of how much they are supporting this woman away from the media circus so I'm not going to judge them either way for that.

RedToothBrush

I agree.

I have no idea of Jeans involvement with domestic violence. But I grew up with it from a young age. My father was violent to my mother and to me so it’s something I do hold very strong opinions on. I think the second statement was good.

I really disagree with you OP. The first statement was woefully inadequate but understandable in the light of legal proceedings being ongoing. Also they are clear in the second statement that they were also misled.
I think they are allowed to feel like victims too - this was their longstanding friend/colleague. His behaviour will affect them. It's not a crime to be concerned about the their own careers.

Also the victim has taken him back and refused to support the prosecution - that does stifle them somewhat.

Also Richard Madeley can be a bit of a berk but he's apologised and tried to put it right. Maybe the problem here is with newspapers for having unqualified celebrities offer advice?

In the face of the victim deciding that what he did was forgivable, this is really strong action from the band.

Completely correct but does shownhownmuch progress had been made. It would be very easy to say well she says he's a good bloke really....

I think they've done well and they're not wrong to have some concern for their careers and their fans

Yes Red all of which is why I am happy to check how I read both statements.

It's not a bad thing to do every now and then. It's how I changed my mind about TWAW!

I'm honestly surprised they sacked him, that's not the response you generally see when blokes in rock bands are caught out doing horrible things to women. The first statement reads like they'd been told by a lawyer not to say much to me, second statement is better.

Legal article about why Tom Meighan didnt go to prison legalfeminist.org.uk/2020/07/07/why-is-kasabian-singer-tom-meighan-not-in-prison/

In the face of the victim deciding that what he did was forgivable, this is really strong action from the band

Absolutely. They are clearly standing on principle here.

To be fairJeanis a lot more involved with DV than most of us

I'm well aware of who Jean is and what she does. I recall passing on details of her campaign about Chad Evans' victim to my son, who with no prompting from me , made a donation. I think if I passed this on he'd be scratching his head in puzzlement at Jean and rather admiring of Kasabian's actions.

I think they should be applauded.

The second statement is unambiguous.

To echo other pp's I think to criticise their actions defeats the cause in the sense they acted decisively and have made clear they do not condone DV even at a cost to their band/fan base.

Losing a Lead Singer is a big deal to a band. They epitomise not just the voice but the "flavour" of their live performances.

It's true that they are in a better place than most given Serge writes the songs and does vocals also but still, in the context of the band losing their front person is a blow.

I think the second statement could have probably said more like ‘we stand with her and her family at what must be a terrible time having all this in the public domain’, but who knows what their personal relationships are with her. They could also have added some contact details for anyone else reading the statement who is facing abuse or not feeling safe at home.
Apart from that I thought the repetition that DV is unacceptable was good and strong.
What a fucking bastard that man is though. All the best to her and her child.

Agree with everyone else...you’re bending it to fit your narrative which is second guessing at best. Come on...they’re not public speakers or experts in the area of domestic abuse and nor are they expected to be. I also think it is absolutely appropriate that they didn’t use her name in a public statement.
Their role was to convey the impact on the band and where the band stand. That’s what they did. It’s fine.

To second another poster who already said this - you have no idea what support has or has not been offered by the band. They all know each other in person you know.

I have a lot of respect for your work Jean but I'm not sure you have got this one right.

I'm seeing a second statement that politely says 'we think he's an utter dick, he's actually been an utter dick for a while and we aren't prepared to work with him any more'. The first statement was literally just that, a statement saying he's gone.

I might have agreed if they had only sacked him after the court case but they decisively got rid, before it went to court and without being forced to by public opinion.

Surely if they'd said more in the first statement there would have been every possibility the case would be compromised?

Surely if they'd said more in the first statement there would have been every possibility the case would be compromised?

Yes

The fact that you pick that one tweet shows how easy it is to make use of confirmation bias. Look, I found THIS tweet in response to their statement, suggesting that even their male fans support the stance they have taken and in no way condone domestic abuse:

Jack Murray
@WalzyBoy
·
7 Jul
Exactly this! Some of the other messages on this thread are a disgrace...so many apologists for domestic violence, all because they love a band..makes me sick reading some of the crap! Bravo to the band for their excellent statement and stand on this.

Police said they have been called before on this abusive man

This is not his first time. He tried to strangle her

He got 200 hours of unpaid work

Fucking disgusting.

Yes chatty agree

The band should off said more

It’s not a blow ffs. They are just a pop band.

This man attacked a woman in front of her child.

Ffs he strangled her. In front of her child.

Jeez

No the band should not have said more.

I'm actually struggling to think of another employer who has made such a strongly worded statement. I'll hazard a guess there are many men with similar convictions who haven't been sacked.

It is absolutely ridiculous the way a minority of posters are so determined to criticise the band. Feminists wonder why they are seen as man- haters- there's posts on here which justify that.

I can't think of another band that's sacked their lead singer over shitty behavior towards women. Granted my experience will lean towards rock and metal, so perhaps in other genres here have been some, but in the part of the music world I'm familiar with seeing this rather than rallying round to make excuses for him is very unusual.

Ffs he strangled her. In front of her child

They sacked him and issued a strongly worded statement- what the hell more do you want?

The criticism on here about their not mentioning her name is scraping the barrel given she didn't want him prosecuted and has gone back to him. They have no right to speak for her.