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I Killed The Prom Queen have been removed from UNIFY 2019 following the backlash surrounding the line-up this week.
The festival has been called out for the lack of female artists announced on next year's bill, as well as the recruitment of I Killed The Prom Queen, in which former frontman Michael Crafter was to re-join the band for an exclusive one-off performance.
update: I Killed The Prom Queen's Michael Crafter Responds After Band Pulled From UNIFY
A string of offensive comments published online by Crafter two years ago resurfaced following the line-up announce including one post which read: "End of the day a festival is about getting cunts to shows… I'm sure there's enough girls get [sic] finger banged in the tents to be happy enough about the festival".
UNIFY organisers today addressed the Adelaide-founded group's expulsion from the 2019 line-up in a statement posted to Facebook.
Today UNIFY Gathering has made the decision, with the backing of band members, to remove I Killed The Prom Queen from the lineup for Unify Gathering 2019.
We made this decision because historical comments made on social media by former member Michael Crafter, who was to re-appear as guest singer of I Killed the Prom Queen for their one- off 2004 nostalgia set. These comments fall well short of today’s community standards and were considered deeply offensive to many people within our music community.
These comments are completely unacceptable and contrary to our deeply held values and beliefs that music is for everyone and to be enjoyed by all.
We want to create a culture of positive change within the music industry and it’s our responsibility to call out unacceptable behaviour wherever we see it.
UNIFY is committed to ensuring a safe place for anyone and everyone who wants to enjoy music. This is why we jointly launched the ‘Your Choice’ initiative, aimed at addressing cultural issues and harmful behaviour within the music festival landscape.
On reflection, we acknowledge that Michael Crafter shouldn't have been chosen to appear at Unify Gathering 2019. We'd like to acknowledge that the members of the band have been really open and helpful in this conversation, and we wish them the best moving forward.
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