Zex

Zex dropped from label due to sexual assault accusations, 1 day after Beyonce made them famous

Canadian punks Zex were in the news earlier this week when vinyl pressings of Beyonce‘s 2016 album Lemonade were mistakenly pressed with songs from Zex’s album Uphill Battle, released this year on Magic Bullet Records. Following Zex’s heightened publicity, Magic Bullet dropped Zex after claiming they received several emails accusing guitarist Jo Capitalcide of sexual assault.

Magic Bullet’s statement also said they received “information shared first-hand by singer Gretchen Steel to the label about Jo’s behavior in their open relationship (which corroborates one of the accounts sent to the label by a survivor within the past 24 hours),” but Steel told Pitchfork that it was “absolutely untrue” that she ever discussed the claims with the label. She added, “I didn’t talk to my label about any of this. I never corroborated any story, I never made any comments about any members of my band. This whole thing? Never happened.” And when Pitchfork asked her if she had ever been aware of any accusations at all, she said “I’ve never heard any of this in my life.” She also said her bandmates were “shocked” by the news.

Magic Bullet since posted a screenshot on Facebook of a text conversation with Steel about the allegations, and wrote, “Well, since the band is lying to the media now and saying this is the first they’re hearing, here’s a screenshot from 3:06PM where the drop and one of the assaults are acknowledged by the singer.” You can see the screenshot below.

Magic Bullet’s statement also notes: “While neither of the band’s two albums with the label have recouped, we will still be making donations to both RAINN and Cornerstone Housing for Women in the band’s hometown of Ottawa, Ontario.”

Zex