Alice Glass Accuses Crystal Castles Co-Founder Ethan Kath of Sexual and Physical Assault; Kath Responds

Alice Glass has released a new statement about “why [she] had to leave Crystal Castles.” In the note posted on her website, Glass details years of alleged abuse from Crystal Castles co-founder Ethan Kath (whose real name is Claudio Palmieri). “I met ‘Ethan Kath’ (Claudio Palmieri) when I was in the 10th grade,” Glass writes. “The first time he took advantage of me was when I was around 15.” In addition to physical abuse, Glass says, “He forced me to have sex with him or, he said, I wouldn’t be allowed to be in the band anymore.” She closes the statement:

Leaving Crystal Castles was the single most difficult decision I’ve ever made—that band was everything to me. My music, my performances and my fans were all I had in the world. I gave that up and started over not because I wanted to but because I had to. As difficult as it was, I knew that leaving was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It has taken me years to recover from enduring almost a decade of abuse, manipulation and psychological control. I am still recovering.

Read Alice Glass’ full statement, which includes graphic details, here.

Kath has sent Pitchfork a response statement via his attorney. “I am outraged and hurt by the recent statements made by Alice about me and our prior relationship,” he said. “Her story is pure fiction and I am consulting my lawyers as to my legal options. Fortunately, there are many witnesses who can and will confirm that I was never abusive to Alice.”

After Glass released her statement, several venues listed Crystal Castles shows as canceled or marked tickets as unavailable. They were also removed from the lineup for New Orleans’ Voodoo Music + Arts Experience. See the canceled shows below.

Alice Glass left Crystal Castles in October 2014. At the time, she wrote, “For a multitude of reasons both professional and personal I no longer feel that this is possible within CC.” In April 2015, Ethan Kath released a new song and said, “I think it can be empowering for her [Glass] to be in charge of her own project. It should be rewarding for her considering she didn’t appear on Crystal Castles’ best known songs.” Glass responded, “For the record, I wrote almost all of the lyrics in my former band and the vast majority of the vocal melodies,” adding, “I was a founding member of Crystal Castles and shaped the sound and aesthetic from the very beginning... manipulative statements about my contributions to the band only reinforce the decision I made to move on to other things.”

This past summer, Glass released her debut solo EP.

Crystal Castles:

10-24 Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
10-25 San Diego, CA - The Observatory North Park
10-26 San Francisco, CA - Warfield
10-28 New Orleans, LA - Voodoo Music + Arts Experience
11-02 Seattle, WA - Showbox
11-03 Vancouver, British Columbia - Vogue
11-04 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
11-08 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
11-09 Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre
11-10 Chicago, IL - Concord Music Hall
11-11 Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
11-14 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
11-15 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
11-16 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
11-17 Toronto, Ontario - Danforth Music Hall