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Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler has been accused of sexual assault by multiple people – all of whom he claims were “consensual” encounters.
Three women and one man who identifies as gender fluid and uses the pronouns they/they allege in an interview with Pitchfork shared Saturday that Butler, 42, assaulted them and used his status as a musician to coerce them into sexual situations.
The alleged victims were between the ages of 18 and 23 when the musician engaged in sexual acts between 2016 and 2020, they told the publication. Butler was 36 years old at the time of the allegations.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Butler. They responded Saturday night that they had no further comment beyond the statement Butler gave in the Pitchfork story.
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What is Winn Butler accused of?
In interviews with the alleged victims, most shared how their interactions with Butler began because they were fans and gradually progressed to ignoring their boundaries.
“To me he was just another creepy old man, and to her he was her hero,” a friend of one of the accusers told Pitchfork, describing a night they were out with Butler.
Another person, called Sarah, described being forced to have video sex with the musician.
“I did everything because it was him,” Sarah said. “I remember being so nervous and so embarrassed to do it,” Sarah said. “He basically used me as his personal therapist and an easy way to have phone sex.”
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One alleged victim, who goes by the pseudonym Fiona, said she attempted suicide after having sex with Butler after a concert in Vancouver in 2017.
“Having to keep everything a secret, constantly pushing my needs away to appease him, the lack of boundaries and the guilt of being the other woman became too hard to ignore,” Fiona said.
Butler, who is married to Arcade Fire’s Régine Chassagne, denied each story told by the accusers in statements to Pitchfork.
How did Butler react?
The musician claims he discussed the meeting with Fiona and they became friends.
“We got on the phone straight away and even though she pointed out that her depression wasn’t about me, I left that conversation vowing never again to sleep with someone I basically knew so little about. It really shook me,” he said. “Even though she reiterated that it wasn’t about me, she was suffering from a mental illness that I have a lot of sympathy for.”
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The musician told Pitchfork that he “had consensual relationships outside of my marriage,” but denied that either incident was sexual abuse.
“I categorically deny any suggestion that I assaulted a woman or demanded sexual favors. This has simply and unequivocally never happened,” Butler said.
Butler said he struggled with alcoholism, mental health issues and “the ghosts of childhood abuse.”
“None of this is meant to excuse my behavior, but I want to give some context and share what was going on in my life at the time,” Butler said, adding that he had “put significant time and energy into therapy and healing, including going to AA.”
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“I’m now more aware of how my public persona can distort relationships, even if the situation seems friendly and positive,” said the Arcade Fire frontman.
Despite the infidelity, Butler’s wife Chassan said her husband is her “soulmate.”
“I stood behind him because I know he’s a good person who cares about this world, our band, his fans, friends and our family,” she said. “I know what’s in his heart and I know he never has and never would touch a woman without her consent and I’m sure he never has.”
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