Warning: Contains graphic details of alleged sexual offences and misconduct, as well as strong language.
Women’s safety campaigners are calling for Thirty Seconds to Mars’ upcoming concerts in the UK to be cancelled after frontman Jared Leto was accused of criminal sexual conduct. The musician, who is now 54, strongly denies the claims. He is currently scheduled to perform with his band at two of the UK’s biggest arenas next April.
The End Violence Against Women coalition and domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid have told Newsbeat they have concerns about the upcoming events in London and Manchester, urging organisers not to go ahead with them. Newsbeat has contacted the promoters, venues, and the band for comment, but has not received any responses.
A investigation published last week heard from four women who have accused the US musician and actor of behaviour which includes sexual assault and grooming. The alleged offences took place in the 2000s and 2010s when the women were teenagers and Leto was in his 30s and 40s. Leto’s alleged victims say they encountered the musician between 2002 and 2016.
A spokesperson for Women’s Aid told Newsbeat it is “troubling to hear that UK concerts are still planned to go ahead that will put an alleged abuser in the spotlight.” They added, “In light of the very serious allegations of criminal sexual conduct, we would urge organisers to put safety over profit and avoid platforming figures like this.”
Janaya Walker, interim director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said she backed the charity’s call. “I think it really is about putting people over profit in this instance, and particularly women and girls’ safety,” she said. Walker noted that tickets still being sold for the concerts at London’s The O2 and Manchester Co-Op Live was “really worrying.”
“Particularly for victims and survivors of violence against women and girls, they’ll be seeing these reports and then seeing that things are moving forward seemingly without any consequence,” Walker said. “I think that will cause a huge amount of alarm and frustration and anger.” She added that the coalition wants the industry to consider whether platforming such individuals sends a message that they condone particular forms of behaviour.
US rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, known for hits including The Kill, was formed by Leto and his brother Shannon in the late 1990s. As part of the documentaryJared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secrettwo men who worked with the band for many years recalled how uncomfortable staff felt about the way Leto would interact with teenage girls. One alleges that crew members were instructed to invite young girls backstage after they would join Leto on stage at gigs, while another says there would typically be about two girls a day stopping by to see Leto at a house where the band was working.
Among those who have accused Leto is ex-model Alex, who says her agency was invited to a Thirty Seconds to Mars concert at London’s O2 arena in 2013. She says she was later invited to an after-party by Leto’s female assistant and, although she was 19 at the time, she says to protect herself she “felt the need” to pretend to be younger. She told him she was 17, and that Leto, then 41, replied: “Age is just a number, and anyway, we’re in Europe.”
Alex says one of Leto’s assistants encouraged her to go to another party at a nearby hotel later, but only Leto was in the room when she arrived. When she asked Leto if she could sleep on the chaise longue in the room, Alex says the star responded by saying that, if she did, she would wake up “with a dick in her ass.” Alex says she tried to dismiss what happened, but she now believes the hotel encounter had been “all planned out.”
In total, 10 women have spoken to the documentary, with nine of them sharing their stories publicly for the first time. Despite repeated attempts to contact Jared Leto before publication of the original story, he did not respond to the allegations. After the story was published, Leto said in a statement released by his representatives to the: “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false.”
They began touring in the 2000s and progressed to headlining major arenas around the world.
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