Metal Anarchy

Fans are calling for Dark Divine to be removed from Motionless In White’s fall tour. The controversy stems from past allegations made by a former crew member. Those claims suggested that the band were surrounded by an abusive work environment that was unfriendly for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Despite the accusations, Dark Divine say they “have always tried to be a haven for those who wished to find a sense of family and acceptance.”

The following statement was issued:

“Dark Divine has always and will always be a space for the LGBTQ+ community and for our crew to feel safe and respected. That is something that we stand by and always want to maintain. There are multiple narratives being formed from individual conflicts that existed in past years trying to portray us as a band who is not only harmful to members of the LGBTQ+ community, but also a band who abuses and doesn’t pay our crew.

Firstly, we always keep invoices and receipts for each crew member and commission. Payouts are determined by the rate they’ve set and are always paid in full. We always keep records so that we can reference them if ever a payment doesn’t go through. We have always made sure everyone gets what they’re owed for the work we have commissioned.

As far as any claims of abuse are concerned, we have always and will always want our crew to work in a safe environment that they want to return to. We currently have an incredible team we have built over the years that align with our beliefs and the ethical expectations of our band. There was a situation in 2024 where a now ex-sound engineer at the time was hired to run sound for not only us, but for every other opening band on the tour. He would become drunk often and verbally abusive members of our camp, including us in the band. There were constant conflicts that would arise that we do agree should’ve absolutely been handled with more care.

We had never dealt with a situation like that before and did our best to navigate a complicated situation. There was much learning to be done in real time and we wish we had handled it better. The individual who expressed that she didn’t feel safe around said sound engineer was eventually sent home in a way that seemed amicable and agreeable to her at the time. The only reason the sound engineer wasn’t sent home instead was because he had also been running sound for all other opening bands throughout that tour. He has never been hired since and we have never had a situation like that since.

As for the narrative that we are harmful to the LGBTQ+ community, you are speaking for a large portion of our fanbase for whom we care about deeply and proudly celebrate. Our fans have always existed within the LGBTQ+ community since the beginning and we were honestly shocked to see words like “homophobic” and “unsafe for people in the LGBTQ+ community” being used as this goes against the core values of acceptance that this band has always believed in. Discrimination and hate has never had a place in this band or fanbase.

We have always tried to be a haven for those who wished to find a sense of family and acceptance. We have taken action in the past to remove members of the band and crew who have not maintained our ethical standards. We love and respect our fans, our crew, and the artists that help to bring Dark Divine‘s vision to life. We are committed to always being in a constant state of learning, improving, and growing as individuals who always want to be doing better.”