All Time Low denies allegations of sexual assault on minors

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All Time Low guitarist Jack Barakat has been accused of sexually abusing a minor fan. Photo: FilmMagic / FilmMagic for Life is Beautiful

Update, October 27: The opening acts of the current All Time Low tour, nothing, nowhere. and Meet Me @ the Altar, have both canceled their remaining dates with the group. Neither artist directly commented on the allegations of sexual abuse. Nothing, nowhere. is now headlining five shows with Meet Me @ the Altar this week in place of previously scheduled dates.

All Time Low issued a statement denying the allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct after several fans made allegations against guitarist Jack Barakat. “The allegations made against us are completely and unequivocally false,” the pop-rock group wrote in a capitalized statement on Twitter, threatening legal action against the accusers. The group’s statement referred to a TikTok published weeks earlier in which a woman said “a famous pop punk band let me get on their tour bus when I was 13”. She added in the comments that the band “tried to take my bra off” and hinted that it was All Time Low. Another fan posted a lengthy Twitter thread under the @ATLstatement account alleging years of sexual abuse by Barakat from the age of 15 until the age of 21. (The account has since been suspended, but the thread has been captured and reposted.) “Jack Barakat hurt me more than I have ever shared before,” the fan wrote. Among the detailed allegations against Barakat , the fan claimed that one of the band members once “physically [walked] on me being sexually assaulted.

A statement from the four of us. pic.twitter.com/tazxZAKOkr

– All Time Low (@AllTimeLow) October 25, 2021

The All Time Low statement, which did not mention the Twitter thread, said the group did not respond to the viral allegations early on because “a response would have escalated and intensified an outright lie.” The group went on to say, “We have always wanted to cultivate and nurture a culture around our shows and our group that is welcoming, healthy and safe.” The allegations are not the first time Barakat has come under scrutiny for his dealings with underage girls. Us Weekly reported in 2013 that Barakat, at the 25th time, was dating actress Abigail Breslin, at the 17th time. @ATLstatement’s allegation on Twitter says that she was involved with Bakarat in the same year as Breslin, when she too was 17.

Although they strongly denied TikTok’s claims and promised a legal response, the group members said they would “continue to listen” amid the abuse allegations. The statement continued, “At this point, it is of the utmost importance to us that you know that we are hearing you, that we stand with the victims and that we collectively stand up for the truth.”

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