Hayley Williams Calls Out Former Bandmates After Homophobic Rant By Ex-Guitarist Surfaces
"There's a reason there are only three people left in Paramore. Surprise, haters, it ain’t cause of me."
Hayley Williams has appeared to suggest that anti-LGBITIQ views were the reason certain Paramore members were forced to leave the group, after a homophobic rant allegedly written by former guitarist Josh Farro surfaced online.
A post reportedly written by Farro circulated online in recent days, in which homosexuality was labelled a “perversion” and was compared to pedophilia. Farro — who left the band in 2010 — had previously been accused of homophobia.
— DRAGONPSY ᵕ̈ (@werjustdreamers) October 29, 2020
While Williams didn’t name Farro in her remarks on Twitter yesterday, she wrote that “there’s a reason there are only three people left in Paramore”.
“Surprise, haters, it ain’t cause of me,” she wrote. “Paramore do not condone religiously/politically dogmatic beliefs which leave our LGBTQ+ friends, fans, and family feeling abandoned and hopeless.”
“And ya know, if that doesn’t jive with you, well, feel free to go to where all past members of Paramore have gone which is literally anywhere else but Paramore. To Paramore’s LGBTQ+ family… you are full of love and you are loved.”
there’s a reason there are only 3 people left in @paramore. surprise, haters, it ain’t cause of me.
paramore do not condone religiously/politically dogmatic beliefs which leave our LGBTQ+ friends, fans, & family feeling abandoned and hopeless.
— hayley from Paramore 🌺 (@yelyahwilliams) October 28, 2020
and ya know, if that doesn’t jive with you, well, feel free to go to where all past members of paramore have gone which is literally anywhere else but paramore.
to paramore’s LGBTQ+ family (and @ColormeBrian i am talkin straight to you) you are full of love and you are loved.
— hayley from Paramore 🌺 (@yelyahwilliams) October 28, 2020
Earlier today, Josh’s brother Zac — who left the band alongside him in 2010 but rejoined in 2016 — released a statement across social media in support of the LGBTIQ community, writing that he does not “condone any actions that do not love and support your community.”
He also wrote that he did not condone an acrimonious blog post that was written by Josh after the two left the band in 2010, in which they labelled the band a “manufactured product.”
“My name was included on that blog post yes, but I had not been briefed on the entirety of what that message contained…I am saying that I have a voice of my own and my voice stands with our band and our fans, not with words including me in actions I do not agree with.”
Read Zac Farro’s statement below.
— Zac Farro (@zacfarro) October 29, 2020
Josh Farro now performs primarily as his solo outfit, Farro. Paramore’s current line-up is Hayley Williams, Taylor York, and Zac Farro. Williams’ first solo album, Petals For Armor, was released in May this year.
Josh Farro had not publicly issued a statement regarding the above at the time of writing.