Why Don’t We has cancelled its Good Times Only Tour and announced that its members are "going on hiatus."
The group was scheduled to perform at Toronto’s Meridian Hall on Sept. 6, Montreal’s Bell Centre on Sept. 7 and Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Sept. 23.
In a message to fans on social media, WDW blamed the cancellation on “unforeseen circumstances related to our ongoing legal battle to emancipate ourselves from the production company we signed with when we started our Why Don’t We journey.
“All we ever want to do in our careers is make great music and perform for all you lovely people.”
WDW shared a heavily redacted copy of a cease-and-desist order it received. The five members have been embroiled in a legal dispute since late last year.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
SEPTEMBER 2017 | Q&A: Why Don’t We
APRIL 2018 | WATCH: Hanging Out With… Why Don’t We
APRIL 2019 | Why Don’t We Keep Going (And Growing)
SEPTEMBER 2020 | Why Don't We Comes Back With A Bang
SEPTEMBER 2021 | Why Don't We Members Accuse Management Of Abuse
Jack Avery, Corbyn Besson, Zach Herron, Jonah Marais and Daniel Seavey accused manager David Loeffler of “mental, emotional, and financial abuse."
In a statement last September, they alleged: “He would not only live with us during the day, but controlled us 24/7, setting an alarm that would go off if any door or window was opened. Needless to say, we were not given the security code to the alarm, essentially making us hostages in our own home.”
The singers claimed that Loeffler restricted food “to the point that some band members developed eating disorders.” They said they snuck food into the house and hid it.
“We were verbally berated almost every day and alienated from our friends and families,” WDW claimed. “We had no support system except for each other and were made to believe that this was ‘normal,’ that every artist had to pay their dues.”
Why Don't We's sophomore album The Good Ones and the Bad Ones debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart but then plummeted 147 spots in its second week.
— Why Don’t We (@whydontwemusic) July 6, 2022