Stone's Zach Dear Accused Of Sexual Harassment & Misconduct

"I am not the kind of guy who would intentionally harm anyone and - given the chance - I would apologize to anyone who felt I misinterpreted their signals or hurt them".

CW: sexual harassment, misconduct. 

Zach Dear, the vocalist for hardcore band Stone and the guitarist of the now defunct outfit Expire (pictured in the middle above) has recently been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women over the past couple days. Allegations against Dear first appeared on a lengthy Tumblr blog called "Zach Dear Is Cancelled" a few days ago - which you can read here, filled with many comments, snippets and posts about his alleged actions against other women. All of these allegations range from first-hand and second-hand accounts of Dear's supposed creepy, harassing and predatory behaviour towards these women; both online, over text and even in-person. And it's quite the extensive list of allegations, with nearly twenty different women having come forward.

No official statement has been released from Stone as a full band just yet. However, in response to all of this, Dear himself has issued a statement over Twitter - where many sycophantic hardcore fans have victim-blamed the women speaking up - addressing these allegations, admitting that while he has been "shamefully promiscuous" on tour but that it in his eyes, it never once entered into the non-consensual area.

He writes that:

"In the last few days there have been some stories involving me circling around the internet. Most saying that I hurt people in different ways. While on tour I was shamefully promiscuous. It's not something I'm proud of but it is something I've been honest about. I lived by the rule that every intimate encounter was over when a woman said "no." In every intimate situation I've been in, my understanding at the time through body language, being kissed back, etc., was that everything was consensual. I am not the kind of guy who would intentionally harm anyone and - given the chance - I would apologize to anyone who felt I misinterpreted their signals or hurt them. That was far from my intention. I think it's important for women to raise issues like this. No question. It gives everyone the opportunity to reflect and deal with them honestly which is what I'll be doing while we take a break from touring."

pic.twitter.com/3FuF9HRIDn

— Zach Dear (@zachdear) January 29, 2018

Stone was meant to tour with current hardcore lords Knocked Loose, scene veterans Terror (who have also had allegations brought up against several of their members too) and Jesus Piece in the coming months over in the States. But as Dear explains, the band will be taking a break from all touring because of this. Which to us, isn't at all a proper solution to this issue, but it's hopefully a small step towards closure, acceptance and some form of remittance.

As for this U.S. tour, Knocked Loose made their own statement about Stone and their vocalist, saying that:

"We have been aware of recent incidents and paying very close attention to every story, tweet, and Facebook post being shared. Stone is no longer on the upcoming tour, it was never a question from the start. This is being worked on from our end since the very beginning please do not take our silence as hiding from the issue, instead we have been working to make our first official headliner a better tour and a safer place for everyone involved. We are sorry it took so long to update. We have always promoted a safe place for every different kind of person that wants to come to our shows, and have vocally promoted a safe space for women. We DO NOT stand behind these actions, and it will not be tolerated. More news tonight."

[Year Of The Knife replaced Stone for anyone wondering and the headliners have yet to comment about the Terror allegations].

It is unclear whether or not Dear will remain as a member of the band at this point and so far, no news has come from their label Pure Noise Records on the matter either. Also, as far as we have seen, none of the other band members of Stone have made a statement of their own just yet.

Stone's new record, 'Inch Of Joy' will be released on March 2nd, 2018 through the aforementioned label and because of this story - and unless something else develops otherwise - we will not be covering the album in terms of a review or interview coverage with the band.

Of course, this recent Stone controversy follows the tail-end of 2017 in which a tidal wave of allegations against multiple musicians was raised, including Brand New’s Jesse Lacey, Pierce The Veil's Mike Fuentes, Cursed Earth's Jazmine Luders, With Confidence's Luke Rockets and Jayden Seeley, among many others. Similarly, Artery Recordings dropped Slaves from their artist roster due to multiple assault allegations that were levelled against the band's frontman Jonny Craig online. (Whose forthcoming album in February we will also not be covering out of sheer principle at this point).

We reached out to the band prior to publishing story but have not since received a comment from the group.

We will update this post regarding Stone and Dear if more comes to light.