SWMRS’ Joey Armstrong Issues Statement About Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Regrettes leader Lydia Night accused SWMRS drummer Joey Armstrong of emotional abuse and sexual misconduct in a detailed Instagram post Monday, part of a wave of allegations against Orange County label and record store Burger Records and its affiliated bands. Now Armstrong, the son of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, has shared a statement regarding Night’s allegations.
Night issued her allegations in response a SWMRS statement in support of the Burger scene’s alleged victims, which she deemed “unbelievably hypocritical” and “complete bullshit.” She wrote that Armstrong invited the Regrettes on tour via a private Instagram message to Night when he was 22 and she was 16. On the road he allegedly pressured, shamed, and gaslighted her into sexual situations and urged her to keep their relationship a secret, including from her parents. “From the beginning, he would constantly make ‘jokes’ on tour about how we would have to follow his rules on tour because he was the headliner,” Night wrote. “The professional power dynamic had made its way into all aspects of our relationship.”
Armstrong posted his response Tuesday from the SWMRS Instagram account:
Hey everyone,
I want to address Lydia’s Instagram post about our relationship. While I don’t agree with some of the things she said about me, it’s important that she be allowed to say them and that she be supported for speaking out. I respect her immensely and fully accept that I failed her as a partner. I was selfish and didn’t treat her the way she deserves to have been treated both during our relationship and in the two years since we broke up. I have apologized to her privately and I hope she can forgive me, if and when she is ready to do so. I own my mistakes and will work hard to regain the trust that I lost.
-Joey
In other fallout from the Burger allegations, Oakland’s Total Trash Productions, the promoter behind the annual Burger Boogaloo festival, announced it is ending its association with Burger and renaming the festival. Total Trash’s statement begins, “Burger Boogaloo, which has always been an independently-produced festival run by Oakland’s Total Trash Productions, has severed ties with Burger Records, and will henceforth be changing the name of the festival. The label’s involvement was always fairly superficial, and Burger Records never profited from ticket sales; They simply lent their name to the festival, boosted the festival via social media, and were given a merch booth on the premises.”
Meanwhile the record label Mexican Summer announced on Instagram that plans are in motion to remove releases by Part Time, one of the bands implicated in the wave of allegations, from streaming services and the label’s web store within the next two days. “We hear you — abuse against women is not something we take lightly,” Mexican Summer’s reps wrote. “Love and strength to all the survivors who have come forward in the last few days and those who have not yet shared their stories.”