Photo by Killian Young
Pinegrove frontman Evan Stephens Hall has addressed allegations of sexual coercion levied against him by “someone I was involved with for a short but intense period of time.”
“The time we spent together was complicated,” Hall writes of their relationship in an open letter posted to Pinegrove’s Facebook. “I believed we were mutually in love and we said it to each other often. But she also sometimes expressed reservation—she was dating someone else, and the dissolution of that relationship would have yielded intense personal and professional consequences. We talked about it thoroughly, endlessly. It was convoluted, heavy, emotional. This whole period felt like an impossible situation with no right answer, but we were working through it together.”
“Eventually she broke up with her boyfriend. We got together again shortly after that, which lasted for about two weeks, during which we spent as much time together as possible. She met my parents. We discussed eventually moving in together. While it was by no means a simple relationship, it was sustained tenderly and i believed sincerely that it was mutual. I absolutely never threatened her, I never leveraged anything against her. I believed all of our decisions to be based in love.”
Now, though, Hall says he’s “coming to terms with the fact that I monumentally misread the situation,” adding that “I should have more actively acknowledged my position of power as a public figure, and also as a man. I have always tried to approach all of my relationships under the premise of equality, but I see now more clearly that the inherent privilege of my gender and the accumulated privilege of being a recognized performer most certainly impacted this interaction.”
Hall also admits to being “flirtatious with fans and on a few occasions been intimate with people that I’ve met on tour. I’ve reached the conclusion now that that’s not ever appropriate—even if they initiate it. There will always be an unfair power dynamic at play in these situations and it’s not ok for me to ignore that.”
Thus, “in an effort to take time to make positive changes in my life and out of respect for what she is going through, [Pingegrove] are cancelling our upcoming US tour,” Hall says. “We’ll be taking some time off in general. I started therapy on Wednesday, November 15th and plan to continue indefinitely. I am sincerely committed to improving my mental health and the way I treat everyone I interact with.”
“I am being held to account by the people close to me but the point of this post is not about me — it is an apology to the person i hurt and to the people i disappointed: my bandmates, my friends, my family, our fans. I’m so sorry. I have never felt remorse like this before. I will think about how I could have been better in this situation for as long as i live.”
Read Hall’s full note below.
