Hedley have announced that they will be taking an “indefinite hiatus” in the wake of mounting sexual assault allegations against frontman Jacob Hoggard.
On Wednesday, Calgary radio host Katie Summers became the latest woman to accuse Hoggard of sexual misconduct, after she claimed the 33-year-old singer touched her inappropriately seven years ago.
A firestorm of accusations of sexual misconduct first appeared earlier this month on social media. Many accusations can be found on the #outhedley2k18 hashtag on Twitter.
A lawyer for Hoggard has denied any wrongdoing by the musician.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Hoggard has denied having ever engaged in any form of non-consensual sexual behaviour. But he apologized for what he described as his “reckless and dismissive” treatment of women over the last 13 years.
“To my many female fans, I want you to know that you deserve nothing but dignity and respect from every man in your life,” Hoggard said in the statement. “To the people that have always had faith in me… I am so sorry for letting you down. I promise to work every day to regain your respect. I know it won’t happen overnight.”
The Vancouver band — fronted by Hoggard and including Dave Rosin, Tommy Mac and Jay Benison — also posted a statement to their official Twitter account announcing that it will be taking a hiatus “to work on our personal relationships and who we are as individuals.”
Here’s Jacob Hoggard’s full statement:
“It’s time to speak for myself, as I should have done from the beginning.
“In the face of multiple allegations, I have to speak out and address these concerns.
“I need to be completely clear: I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual behaviour in my life. Ever.
“However, over the last 13 years, I have behaved in a way that objectified women.
“The way I’ve treated women was reckless and dismissive of their feelings. I understand the significant harm that is caused not only to the women I interacted with, but to all women who are degraded by this type of behaviour. I have been careless and indifferent and I have no excuse. For this I am truly sorry.
“To my many female fans, I want you to know that you deserve nothing but dignity and respect from every man in your life.
“To the people that have always had faith in me, and the institutions and organizations that believed in me, I am so sorry for letting you down. I promise to work every day to regain your respect. I know it won’t happen overnight.
“I was given a position of leadership and power and I mishandled it. I will regret this for the rest of my life. I’ve let down my family, my friends, and so many fans. I’m sorry.
“It’s time for me to change. I’ve decided to step away from my career indefinitely. I will honour my commitments to this tour, then will be taking a serious step back in order to make real changes in my life, seek guidance from family and continue to grow and learn from the amazing women in my life. I’m asking for a chance to prove that I can be the man you thought I was, the man I was raised to be.”
