Yesterday, Hookworms broke up after frontman MJ was accused of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse by a woman (who went by “L” to remain anonymous) in a post by former Joanna Gruesome singer Alanna McArdle. The band promised that MJ would post his own statement, and MJ did so shortly afterwards, denying the allegations. It reads:
It feels impossible to address this comprehensively so soon and especially given subsequent developments and decisions that have been made by others. To be clear, I deny and will always deny the allegations that were posted yesterday.
I understood that L and I were both unhappy with parts of our short relationship, but we had not been in contact for some time. She contacted me recently and during our exchanges (we did not meet) she asked me to characterise some of my actions towards her as abusive to assist her, she said, with her ongoing recovery from historic sexual abuse that occurred prior to us knowing each other. I regret now accepting any blame. I felt pressured into disbelieving myself and also believed I was helping her. I offered her support in other ways so to read what she has told someone else about me is confusing and upsetting. More importantly, the picture and image painted of me yesterday is untrue. I was not abusive towards L and in light of yesterday’s allegations I now regret accepting any blame as she asked me to do.
Alanna and L are two different people, and the allegations are not being made by Alanna. I have attempted in all of my work and private life to maintain good ethics. The image presented by Alanna’s statement yesterday is not one I recognise and is untrue.
Thank you for the messages of support.
Alanna McArdle replied to his statement, writing: “You are a despicable liar and you should be deeply, deeply ashamed of yourself.” She later added in a series of Tweets: “I am incensed by Matt’s statement from last night. However it only proves, once again, the extent of his remorselessness, manipulation and faux feminist politics. Extending solidarity and love to every survivor out there. To have him relentlessly tweet about believing survivors and then say something like this is beyond hypocritical and frankly very scary. The support L has had from a lot of you has been endlessly appreciated. Thank you for actually, truly believing survivors.”
https://twitter.com/alannamcardle_/status/1057967866904002560
To have him relentlessly tweet about believing survivors and then say something like this is beyond hypocritical and frankly very scary. The support L has had from a lot of you has been endlessly appreciated. Thank you for actually, truly believing survivors
— Lan (@alannamcardle_) November 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/familyscraps/status/1057781005543727104