Radiohead issue statement on stalled stage collapse case: "We are appalled"

Back in 2012, a stage collapsed at a Radiohead show in Toronto (before doors were open), resulting in the tragic death of drum tech Scott Johnson. The following year, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour brought charges against Live Nation, Toronto scaffolding company Optex Staging and Services, and engineer Domenic Cugliari under Toronto’s Occupational Health and Safety Act. After several dates, a judge stayed the charges against all three parties earlier this week. Radiohead has now issued a statement on the stalled case, saying:

We are appalled by the decision to stay the charges against Live Nation, Optex Staging, and Domenic Cugliari. This is an insult to the memory of Scott Johnson, his parents and our crew.

It offers no consolation, closure or assurance that this kind of accident will not happen again.

This statement follows Thom Yorke tweeting “words utterly fail me” in initial response to the standstill. Caribou, who opened the show, also tweeted, “(As someone who was standing behind this stage when it collapsed and would have been on it an hour later…) This is complete bullshit.”