The Juno Awards Nominated Arcade Fire After The Win Butler Controversy, Faced Backlash, And Now They’ve Explained Themselves

A few days ago, the nominations for the 2023 Juno Awards (Canada’s equivalent of the Grammys) were announced. Some music fans took notice that Arcade Fire is nominated for Group Of The Year, a nod that comes after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct were made against Win Butler last summer. Now, Juno organizers have explained themselves.

In a statement sent to CBC Music, the Canadian Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences said, “We look at Arcade Fire’s nomination for group of the year as one for the entire band. While we take the allegations very seriously, in this situation, we are also honouring the rest of the band for their success. We hope the allegations against Butler will not detract from the achievements of the other group members.”

After the nominations were announced, folks took to social media to voice their displeasure over the Arcade Fire situation. Journalist Jill Krajewski tweeted, “i’ll say it again: abusers in music constantly use their bands as both lure and cover for their violence. it’s impossible for @TheJUNOAwards to honour arcade fire without enabling win butler.” Canadian musician Jenn Grant wrote, “Arcade Fire nominated for @TheJUNOAwards group of the year??! Do we think that the musical group OTY representing this country should be made up of a lead singer who uses their power to act with sexual violence towards underage women? NO WE DO NOT!!!!”

Others made reference to how differently the Junos handled a related situation a few years ago. One Twitter user explained, “For reference, when the allegations against Jacob Hoggard emerged in 2018, Hedley was rightly pulled from the Juno Awards show and their nominations that year were rescinded. Win Butler and Arcade Fire apparently merit different treatment.”