the orwells press photos
[Photo by: Fortess-music]

The Orwells break up amidst sexual abuse allegations

The Orwells have broken up following sexual abuse allegations against three members of the band.

Last weekend, a Reddit post surfaced detailing various allegations against the band’s lead singer Mario Cuomo, drummer Henry Brinner and bassist Grant Brinner.

In the Reddit post, claims made against the three members included allegations of sexual misconduct, sexual interactions with minors, homophobic remarks and more.

Earlier this afternoon (Aug. 29,) the band shared a message, posted to all of their social media accounts, that reads as follows:

“The Orwells have disbanded.”

The band have also sent out a statement following the allegations, which you can read in full below:

“It’s come to our attention that certain allegations of abuse have been made against one or more of us on social media and in social circles of Chicago. We’d like to first state that sexual abuse in any form is abhorrent. We do not take these accusations lightly and consider this matter incredibly serious. We emphatically deny these baseless allegations brought as a personal attack against us.

While callow altercations and vulgar language we’ve used in the past must be recognized and owned up to, the accusations of sexual assault are completely unfounded. No member of this band has ever acted without consent or maliciously taken advantage of anyone. We encourage anyone who’s been affected by sexual abuse to speak up and make their abusers known; however, we also encourage everyone to be cautious of the things they read and say on the Internet. No victim of abuse should be hesitant to make their voice heard and if someone does feel that we’ve hurt them, we encourage them to contact us properly and privately (not via social media or anonymously), as to respect their identity.

Sincerely, Matt, Mario, Dominic, Henry, and Grant
The Orwells”

Days before the Orwells announced their break up, they shared that they would no longer be appearing at their hometown show in Chicago.

“Out of respect to our friends at the Metro we will be cancelling our November show,” they added. “All ticket buyers will be refunded immediately.”