crystal castles

Crystal Castles cancels Toronto concert after former band member alleges abuse

Toronto-born singer and former Crystal Castles frontwoman Alice Glass is sending shock waves through the music industry right now with a series of startling allegations against her former bandmate.

Glass, 29, formed the popular electronic music duo Crystal Castles with fellow Torontonian Ethan Kath (Claudio Palmieri) in 2006, but left the band in 2014 for "both professional and personal reasons."

Yesterday, the musician elaborated on those reasons in an online statement she says was inspired by the #MeToo movement and recent controversy surrounding Harvey Weinstein.

"I met 'Ethan Kath' (Claudio Palmieri) when I was in the 10th grade. The first time he took advantage of me was when I was around 15," reads a portion of the 1,000+ word statement on Glass' website.

"He berated me and yelled at me, telling me that I was a joke, that all the people that came to our shows were only interested in his instrumentals and that I was ruining the band," it continues.

"He forced me to have sex with him or, he said, I wouldn’t be allowed to be in the band anymore."

Kath has since denied the allegations through his attorney, writing in a statement obtained by Pitchfork:

"I am outraged and hurt by the recent statements made by Alice about me and our prior relationship. Her story is pure fiction and I am consulting my lawyers as to my legal options. Fortunately, there are many witnesses who can and will confirm that I was never abusive to Alice."

Still, in light of this controversy, all remaining shows on the Crystal Castles 2017 concert tour have been cancelled.

This includes the Toronto show that was scheduled for Nov. 17 at the Danforth Music Hall.

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