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Win Butler and other Arcade Fire members will be making their sixth appearance on SNL on May 10, 2025, shortly after releasing the band's seventh studio album, Pink Elephant. The SNL episode will feature Walton Goggins and Scarlett Johansson alongside Bad Bunny and the indie/art rock band as musical guests.
However, several Reddit threads have raised questions, and netizens have expressed discontent over the band being given a public platform as huge as SNL, given that Win Butler was accused of s*xual misconduct by several women in 2022.
According to a report by Pitchfork dated August 27, 2022, three women made allegations of inappropriate s*xual interactions with Butler in the context of power dynamics, the context in which they occurred, and the age gap.
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The publication mentioned that all three women were Arcade Fire fans between the ages of 18 and 23 and that the band's co-founder interacted with them in overlapping periods from 2016 to 2020, when he was between 36 and 39.
Another allegation came from a gender-fluid person using they/them pronouns who claimed that Win Butler s*xually assaulted them twice in 2015 when they were 21 and Butler was 34. Pitchfork specified that they viewed text and Instagram DM screenshots between the accusers and Butler and interviewed their friends and family who were aware of the alleged abuse.
Additionally, the publication mentioned detailed descriptions of the allegations levied by the four people using pseudonyms instead of their real names.
What did Win Butler say about the allegations against him? Arcade Fire co-founder's statement to Pitchfork explored
In the article exposing the allegations of s*xual encounters people levied against Arcade Fire's co-founder, Pitchfork also mentioned his statement responding to the same.
Win Butler began his statement by mentioning that he loved his wife, Régine Chassagne, who is also a band member, and that they had been together for 20 years at the time. Dubbing Régine as his "partner in music and in life," Butler claimed that he wanted to clear the air about his poor judgment and mistakes.
The statement from Win Butler read:
"I have had consensual relationships outside of my marriage. The majority of these relationships were short lived, and my wife is aware – our marriage has, in the past, been more unconventional than some."
Stating that he connected with people at shows, via social media, and in person, and exchanged messages that he's not proud of, Butler mentioned:
"Most importantly, every single one of these interactions has been mutual and always between consenting adults. It is deeply revisionist, and frankly just wrong, for anyone to suggest otherwise."
He clarified his stance of never having touched a woman against her will and dubbed any implication otherwise as false. Butler denied allegations of forcing himself on women or demanding s*xual favors, stating it "simply, and unequivocally, never happened." Emphasizing that the relationships outside of his marriage were consensual, Win Butler apologized to those he hurt with his behavior.
Additionally, he revealed that he struggled with mental health issues and the trauma of childhood abuse for a long time, followed by experiencing the depression of a miscarriage during his 30s, which he dealt with by drinking. Stating that the mentioned wasn't an excuse for his behavior, the Arcade Fire frontman stated:
"I do want to give some context and share what was happening in my life around this time. I no longer recognized myself or the person I had become. Régine waited patiently watching me suffer and tried to help me as best as she could. I know it must have been so hard for her to watch the person she loved so lost."
Toward the end of his statement, Butler apologized again and mentioned that he had spent a significant amount of time and energy on healing, therapy, and attending AA (Alcoholics Anonymous).
After being on the brink of getting cancelled by their fanbase, Arcade Fire has made a comeback with its latest album, Pink Elephant, which was released on May 9, 2025, becoming the band's first project in 3 years.
