The Orwells cancel hometown show and issue statement amid sexual assault allegations

Over the weekend various accounts accusing sexual abuse from Mario Cuomo, Henry Brinner, and Grant Brinner of The Orwells surfaced on a Reddit thread.

The Chicago-based band has responded to the claims of sexual abuse, stating, "We’d like to first state that sexual abuse in any form is abhorrent. We do not take these accusations lightly and consider this matter incredibly serious. We emphatically deny these baseless allegations brought as a personal attack against us."

They go on to add, "While callow altercations and vulgar language we’ve used in the past must be recognized and owned up to, the accusations of sexual assault are completely unfounded. No member of this band has ever acted without consent or maliciously taken advantage of anyone. We encourage anyone who’s been affected by sexual abuse to speak up and make their abusers known; however we also encourage everyone to be cautious of the things they read and say on the Internet."

In light of the allegations, The Orwells have cancelled their hometown show at Chicago's Metro on 23 November.

Out of respect to our friends at the Metro we will be cancelling our November show. All ticket buyers will be refunded immediately.

— The Orwells (@TheOrwells) August 27, 2018