Spiritbox Withdraw From Falling In Reverse Tour Amid Allegations Towards Ronnie Radke

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After a few days of radio silence following backlash towards Spiritbox featuring on Falling In Reverse’s US tour, the popular Canadian metalcore outfit have officially pulled out of the tour.

Last week, Falling In Reverse announced a US tour alongside Ice Nine Kills, Underoath, Spiritbox, Slaughter To Prevail, Crown The Empire and Catch Your Breath for this June. 

The tour announcement arrived with considerable criticism, with the bulk of it aimed at Courtney LaPlante, who has previously commented against abuse in the music scene. Most recently, she called out Dance Gavin Dance vocalist Tilian Pearson on stage.

Speculation about the band’s drop-off has been linked to Falling In Reverse vocalist Ronnie Radke’s checkered past of allegations - from violent incidents, sexual harassment, and homophobic and transphobic comments, among other issues. 

“We have withdrawn from the 6 shows we were scheduled to perform on the Popular Monstour,” Spiritbox wrote on Twitter. 

It’s unclear how the other bands on the bill will react to Spiritbox leaving the tour.

We have withdrawn from the 6 shows we were scheduled to perform on the Popular Monstour.

— Spiritbox (@spiritboxband) March 13, 2023

Spiritbox are performing at the inaugural Knotfest Australia this month and will play an exclusive sideshow in Melbourne with Make Them Suffer and Reliqa. Their debut album, Eternal Blue, topped the rock charts in the United States and Canada, breaking the top 10 in Australia and the top 20 in the UK and Germany. 

Lending context to LaPlante's comments towards Dance Gavin Dance: In November, Dance Gavin Dance welcomed back Tilian Pearson after he departed the band last June due to sexual assault allegations.

Allegations against the vocalist first appeared on Reddit on 1 June from a woman who claimed that she was "preyed upon," with Pearson responding directly to her by writing, "every sexual act was purely consensual." 

Another allegation surfaced a day later when another Reddit poster claimed that the singer forced her into sex. Pearson also directly responded, calling their encounter "a consensual experience" but that he would "be entering an intensive therapy program to address this issue head-on".

More allegations appeared on social media around that time. Dance Gavin Dance shared a statement on 4 June where they wrote that Pearson would be "stepping away from the band". 

In a statement shared by the band in November, they wrote: "If the past year has taught us anything, it's that everyone handles grief differently, and Tilian is no exception. When Tilian opened up to us about his substance abuse problem that had spiralled in recent months, we all agreed that he needed time to reset his life to avoid the tragic fate of so many artists before him. 

"We are a resilient group who has always believed in redemption, and we have seen the hard work that Tilian has been doing to address and overcome an issue that has plagued him for years. That's why we are welcoming him back to the band. We are proud of his progress, and we look forward to seeing all of you on the road next year."