Arcade Fire singer faces claims of sexual misconduct

THE frontman for Grammy-winning rock band Arcade Fire has been accused of sexual misconduct by four people. The accusers include three women who were “devoted” fans and a gender-fluid person.

All four were aged between 18 and 23 at the time of the allegations, between 2015 and 2020.

They claim that Win Butler, 42, exploited his celebrity status to make unwanted advances in online US music publication Pitchfork.

The singer-guitarist has been married to fellow Arcade Fire band member Régine Chassagne since 2003.

Butler denied any sexual misconduct, describing the incidents as “consensual relationships outside of my marriage”.

“It is deeply revisionist, and frankly just wrong, for anyone to suggest otherwise,” he said.

One of Butler’s accusers, a genderfluid person who spoke to Pitchfork under the pseudonym Lily, said they met Butler at a concert in Montreal in early 2015.

Lily, a 21-year-old art student at the time, claimed Butler later sexually assaulted them on two occasions.

Butler acknowledged sexual interactions with each of the four people, but insists they were all consensual.

The three women said their relationships with the singer were inappropriate due to the large age gap and unbalanced power dynamic.

One, using the pseudonym Stella, said Butler sent her messages after she attended a 2016 charity event hosted by the singer. She was 18 at the time and Butler was 36.

She claimed Butler began sending her explicit images and pictures of his genitals against her wishes.

She ultimately blocked his number because “I couldn’t take it anymore”.

Butler admitted he had sent the messages and said: “I didn’t realise the significance of the age difference.”