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The Regrettes's Lydia Night accuses SWMRS's Joey Armstrong of sexual abuse, fans call him 'f***ing hypocrite'

Night said she began a relationship with Armstrong when she was 16 and he was 22 and it ended right before her 18th birthday
PUBLISHED JUL 21, 2020
Lydia Night, Joey Armstrong (Getty Images)
Lydia Night, Joey Armstrong (Getty Images)

Lydia Night, most commonly known as the lead vocalist for the punk rock band The Regrettes, has taken to social media to share her story on abuse in the music industry. The 19-year-old singer shared a lengthy statement on Instagram on July 20. In the statement, Night called out SWMRS drummer Joey Armstrong for emotional and sexual abuse after the band released an "unbelievably hypocritical statement on social media that has pushed me to publicly share my story".

"This band's delusional positioning of themselves as woke feminists is not only triggering for me as a victim, but is complete bulls**t and needs to be called out. I've spent over a year processing and reflecting on my experience to try to find the right way to go about it," she said. Night explained that she began a relationship with Armstrong when she was 16 (he was 22 at the time) which "ended right before my 18th birthday".

"For so long I viewed it just as being toxic and not something valid enough to share but now I know that what I actually experienced was emotional abuse and sexual coercion by someone in a position of power over me. It is important to me that Joey and his entire band are held accountable to fully understand that even though they may view themselves as 'good guys' they are continuing to perpetuate the exact toxic culture they are trying to call out," she wrote in her lengthy post.

"In May of 2017 Joey followed me on Instagram and DM'd me saying that SWMRS would be sending us some offers for a few tours that year. I told him I was a big fan and was excited. I noticed that I was the only member of the band he followed but I didn't think much of it," Night explained before adding, "I was especially excited about the tour because I viewed SWMRS as being vocal feminists and having a message that I thought aligned with mine."

In her statement, she went on to share the details of the abuse which started out as "secret hand holding" and which she described as "exciting". "Here was this older guy in a band I loved showing me his attention," she explained.

"One night he invited me to his bunk. I snuck over and he was waiting shirtless in his underwear. We kissed for the first time and then he told me to leave so we weren't caught by my dad who was sleeping in a bunk between ours. The next time I snuck over, he dry humped me abruptly until he came. He moved much faster sexually than I was used to but I didn't question it because he was older and I liked him. Everyone in his band, crew, family and his manager knew that we were seeing each other. Because of our age difference, Joey would continually ask me to keep our relationship as hidden as possible and I did."

Night further stated that Armstrong initially said their relationship would become more serious once she was of age, but then explained that the "rules" changed as time went by and spoke of what led to their breakup.

"Two months before my 18th birthday, he flew me to New York to spend a few days together. Right before the trip, he told me he was there to rehearse, so I would be seeing him almost only in his bed at night. One of these nights, he changed the ‘rules’ he had prefaced our entire relationship on," Night said, adding, "He now said ‘let’s not pay attention to my exact time frame.’ This conversation was really eye opening. His timeline and promise of a ‘real’ relationship was the thing that strung me along but once we got closer to the thing he would call the finish line, it was apparent it was bulls**t all along. I knew I was done and chose to end it."

Fans on Twitter are lending their support to Lydia and sharing their contempt for Armstrong and his band. "Lydia night appreciation post. her recent ig post made me cry, she’s overcome so much and i’m so glad she’s doing so much better now. f**k joey armstrong and f**k swmrs," said a fan. Another wrote, "All my love and admiration to you, lydia. you’re so strong and brave, thank you for sharing your story with us. sending love." One fan said, "I’ve looked up to lydia night for years now and im so proud of her for sharing her story. f**k swmrs. I really believed they were good guys and I supported them but I just can’t anymore knowing they’re absolute f***ing hypocrites. disgusting!!!!"

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