Paramore singer Hayley Williams has suggested that religion-fuelled hate was behind the departure of bandmate Josh Farro a decade ago.
A screenshot of a Facebook post circulated online in which Farro allegedly called homosexuality a “perversion” and compared it to pedophilia.
In response, Williams tweeted: “there’s a reason there are only 3 people left” in Paramore. “Surprise, haters, it ain’t cause of me.
“Paramore do not condone religiously/politically dogmatic beliefs which leave our LGBTQ+ friends, fans, & family feeling abandoned and hopeless.”
Williams added “if that doesn’t jive with you, well, feel free to go to where all past members of paramore have gone which is literally anywhere else but paramore.”
In a Dec. 21, 2010 blog post about his departure from Paramore, Farro said he and brother Zac objected to some of Williams’ lyrics that contradicted “what the Bible says.” He wrote: “We fought her about how her lyrics misrepresented our band and what we stood for, but in the end she got her way.”
Farro wrote: “After a lot a prayer and counsel Zac and I came to the decision that it was time to leave the band. We truly feel that God is leading us elsewhere and is going to do great things with us.” (Zac Farro rejoined the group in 2017.)
This week, Williams tweeted: “To paramore’s LGBTQ+ family… you are full of love and you are loved.”