The Californian band capsize are the latest band in rock to face sexual misconduct allegations, which has now resulted in guitarist Nick Lopez’s removal from the band with immediate effect.
The allegations and the band’s response to the statement did maintain the anonymity of the member which was being referred to, but Lopez did make an apology via his personal Twitter account confirming it was him at the centre of the allegations.
With Lopez’s immediate departure from the band, the band confirmed that they’d cancelled their tour of Europe and the UK with Holding Absence as well as being dropped from Blessthefall’s upcoming US tour.
Soon after, further allegations were made toward the band’s vocalist, Daniel Wand.
In tweets posted via Twitter by @pastelwife, they have detailed two accounts of the events that have happened to them as well as another alleged victim, @ellyangelene.
The full statement can be read below.
“Daniel Wand from Capsize is a predator and it’s time to stop supporting this band.
I was 16/17 when I met Daniel on Facebook. He was fully aware of my age. I was born in 1994, and to my best knowledge he was born in 1990. That makes him 20/21 at the time of my encounter with him.
Daniel pressured me to have sex with him to the point where I felt like I had no choice. He didn’t care that I didn’t want to. My clothes came off anyway. He manipulated me and took advantage of how naive and young I was.
This only happened to me once. That is not the case for @ellyangelene who is two years younger than me. She has given me permission to share her story as well.
Elly was born in 1996 and was 16/17 at the time of her encounter(s) as well, making Daniel 22/23. Again, he was fully aware. On multiple occasions Daniel would pressure and guilt trip her into having sex with him. She was manipulated because she was young.
This is a pattern of bad behaviour that should have been addressed a long time ago. We are not doing any of this for pity or attention. After seeing other girls come forward about their experiences we finally had the strength to share something we had to work through on our own because at that time this was seen as “normal.” It’s not.”
Another allegation against Wand was tweeted by @maryxmaggot. You can read her statement below.
https://twitter.com/maryxmaggot/status/1099087727029452800
“Many who are close to me know that I have supported Capsize loyally for several years now, since before their first full-length. As years passed I will admit that I have heard comments and stories of particular members of the band that I didn’t want to believe. Now, I have learned my lesson.
Daniel Wand and I had sexual relations in early January.
I was completely fine at first. He had given me his number, and he let me know that he was going to be in my area, so we decided that we’d hang out once I got out of work. “Hanging out” led to me going into the band’s van, me lying next to him in the bunk, and his hands going up my hoodie because he was “cold.”
However, in the moment, I wasn’t scared. I just let it happen. I admit to my mistakes of never clearly expressing my boundaries of consent. I actually initiated some actions without thinking clearly, but never explicitly said no to him even when I began to think things were going too far; it just happened, but it started to pry at me on the drive home, and weeks later.
We have been acquaintances for the past three years, simply because I have gone to every single Capsize show from LA to San Diego almost without fail since 2016. We hadn’t gotten close(r) until Fall of 2018, when I was newly single, and was a time of deep emotional distress for me. I had a heart to heart with him after one of their shows in Pomona, and he offered to be a shoulder to cry on, whenever I needed, but at what cost?
He kept saying “this is our little secret,” over and over again, “Don’t tell anyone.” “Don’t you love being my secret slut…” I felt like his object.
And I met up with him once more after this scenario on my own street.
Someone I looked up to in high school, someone who offered to be a mentor in my future musical aspirations, someone whose lyrics I wanted imprinted on my skin, didn’t see me as a friend as I trusted he did, and used my vulnerability to his advantage.
I’d personally like to apologize to anyone I didn’t listen to who warned me about him. I’m sorry to anyone who has been affected by his actions, and didn’t have a platform to address their feelings.
Lastly, I’m sorry to Marlee.
I’m sorry for letting things happen when I knew there were in a relationship. I never meant to cause any disrespect to her. I wish I had a way to contact her and know if she’s okay.
A lot of people have contacted me since last night, and I’m truly thankful for the love I’ve received from everyone.
I hope anyone who reads this knows, please be careful when meeting your idols.”
Since the allegations surfaced, Capsize have removed all of their accounts from Social Media. At the time of writing, their Instagram account remains active, although all posts and content have been removed.
Additionally, it’s uncertain whether there will be a response from the band and/or Wand himself.
Lastly, for those who are facing and/or survivors of sexual abuse, help and support can be found on the following links below.
NHS: www.nhs.uk
Safeline: www.safeline.org.uk
SOSAA: www.sosaa.org.uk
A Voice For The Innocent: www.avoicefortheinnocent.org
RAINN: www.rainn.org
Mind: www.mind.org.uk
Survivors: www.survivorsuk.org
The Survivors Trust: www.thesurvivorstrust.org
Citizens Advice: www.citizensadvice.org.uk
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