Hookworms appearing at the 2018 Bluedot Festival (Gary Mather for Live4ever)
Hookworms frontman MJ has denied abuse allegations made against him this week which the band responded to by saying they could ‘no longer continue’.
The claims of ‘sexual, physical, emotional abuse’ were made on social media by Alanna McArdle on behalf of an ex-girlfriend of MJ, real name Matthew Johnson, in a statement which can be read here.
Hookworms have been riding the crest of a wave for much of 2018 thanks to the widespread acclaim garnered by their Microshift album, during which time the band has become an increasingly vocal supporter of equal rights and anti-abuse campaigns within music through their social media platforms.
In MJ’s response, he said he will ‘deny and always will deny the allegations that were posted’, read that here, after the band’s Twitter page had added to their apparent decision to split by insisting ‘the other members, their collaborators, various agents and record label had no prior knowledge of the allegation before it went public’.