Hookworms Break Up Following Abuse Allegations Against Frontman

UK rock band Hookworms have announced that they have broken up following abuse allegations against their frontman Matthew Johnson (aka MJ). Johnson has since issued a statement denying the allegations. “We’re deeply shocked by the allegations that came to light yesterday regarding MJ, and take them very seriously,” Hookworms wrote in a statement posted to their Twitter. According to the note, “other members of Hookworms, their collaborators, various agents, and record labels had no prior knowledge of the allegation before it went public yesterday, and are still coming to terms with the news.” Find the full statement below.

Allegations against Matthew Johnson were made public yesterday, October 30, by Alanna McArdle, ex-frontwoman of Joanna Gruesome and current singer of Ex-Vöid. In a note posted on Twitter, McArdle, who said she used to date Johnson, stated that she was contacted by a woman identified as “L” “who was involved with [Johnson] in 2016.” McArdle said L suffered “horrific abuse,” including sexual assault, from Johnson. Find McArdle's full statement below.

Johnson has since addressed the allegations in a statement shared in the tweet below. “To be clear, I deny, and will always deny, the allegations that were posted yesterday,” he wrote. He claimed that he and L were both “unhappy with parts of our short relationship.” He then said that L “pressured” him into categorizing his actions as “abusive,” adding, “I regret now accepting any blame.” He called L’s claims “untrue.” His full statement is below. Pitchfork has contacted representatives for Hookworms and MJ.

This article was originally published on October 31 at 4:31 p.m. Eastern. It was last updated at 8:15 p.m. Eastern.