Days after vocalist Win Butler was charged with sexual assault, Arcade Fire kicked off their world tour in Dublin on Tuesday.

A Pitchfork investigation over the weekend uncovered four people, all between the ages of 18 and 23, who had accused the musician of acting improperly.

Allegations included forcible groping, unwanted sexual text messages, and sexual assault.

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Butler has refuted the accusations and stated that each and every interaction was voluntary.

“I have never touched a woman against her will,” he claimed in a statement to the music site. “It is deeply revisionist, and frankly just wrong, for anyone to suggest otherwise.”

“The Grammy Award winner, who is married to bandmate Régine Chassagne, mentioned his history with alcoholism and melancholy and was “very sorry to anyone who I have hurt with my behaviour.” 

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Butler’s age ranged from 34 to 39 from 2015 to 2020, the time period covered by the Pitchfork inquiry. His accusers were all at least ten years younger than he was.

One, who communicated with Pitchfork using the alias Lily and the pronouns they/them, claimed to have met the performer in person in 2015.

Butler allegedly groped and kissed them in a car without their permission after the performance. Another time, Lily alleged that after Butler opened their front door, “he pinned me up against the wall and was aggressively grabbing my body and sticking his tongue down my throat.”

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Butler claimed that the second interaction was “definitely mutual” and that he had caressed Lily’s thigh in the car.

According to a woman going by the alias Stella, Butler and she began messaging one other in 2016 when she was 18 and he was 36. They also claimed to have gone out for drinks together.

Later on, she claimed, the musician “repeatedly sending her explicit texts without her consent or reciprocation” and she told him she didn’t want them.

The musician admitted to sexting but claimed he was unaware the texts were unwanted. He claimed that while at the time he was unaware of the significance of the age difference, he could now understand “how it could be overwhelming.”

According to Butler’s wife, her husband “has never, and would never, touch a woman without her consent and I am certain he never did,” according to Pitchfork.