Hayley Williams has slammed internet trolls following criticism she received for postponing recent Paramore shows due to illness.
After pushing back a handful of dates of their ongoing This Is Why tour across the US, including dates in San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and Salt Lake City, Williams released a statement on the band's Discord which read: “In all seriousness, this past week has been really tough. Nobody would know this but I started getting sick in Houston (non contagious) and muscled my way all the way through LA.”
“Touring is different at 34 than it was at 16, when leaving home felt like the greatest escape,” she notes. “At this age, I have my own home life, a community, a dog, my sisters and the rest of my family who are getting older… Alf and I go on neighborhood walks with my elderly neighbor and her dog. It’s quite a lot to leave behind.”
Following the statement, Paramore quickly returned to the road, playing shows this past weekend in Tulsa (July 29) and St. Louis (July 30). Yesterday, (July 31), the frontwoman took to social media to share the criticism she received rom "internet bros" over the band's brief break.
As per a Stereogum report, Williams shared a screenshot of one tweet she received on Instagram, in which showed a person arguing that the bandmembers of Metallica and Iron Maiden still “manage” to tour, “all of which are much older than you love.”
In response, she hit back: “Neither James [Hetfield] NOR Bruce [Dickinson] are gonna suck your dick for this, LOVE.”
Another commenter compares the situation to Dave Grohl falling off the stage in 2015 and says: "Hayley Williams gets sick and cancel multiple gigs and bitches about how hard it is at 34...Dave fucking Grohl, falls off stage, breaks his leg, and returns to finish set in wheel chair at 50 odd years of age....she's a whiney hypocrite c**t".
Clapping back to the sexist tweet, she states: "I have a lung infection you soft shit! Not a broken limb. One you can sing with for 2 hours, another you can't. But worry not! The shows weren’t cancelled, merely postponed a week. Maybe you should come out to one of them…like Dave did."
Elaborating on the criticism in a longer statement, Williams adds: "Internet bros have been pressed by my proximity to rock music and all its subgenres since 2005. The only thing that's changed is the platform from which they spew their ignorance.
"Don’t think for a second your fav bands – metal or punk or otherwise – endorse your weird incel ass lifestyle.
"So many of these bands have stood side stage at our shows and treat us with respect. Why? Because they aren’t threatened by a strong woman front a great band in a completely diff genre of music. Crying from laughing at myself I love when i have so so so much time".
Paramore's next show will take place tonight (August 1) at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI.
