Joyce Manor Frontman Clashes With Another Stage-Diver In Houston, Releases Statement

Joyce Manor Frontman Clashes With Another Stage-Diver In Houston, Releases Statement

Joyce Manor frontman Barry Johnson has been catching a lot of flak from a vocal subsection of the punk community after he called out a stage-diver during one of the band’s live shows. He did the same thing at a show in Houston on Friday night. After reportedly telling the audience at the start of the show that he didn’t want anyone to stage-dive, apparently someone tried and was called out again. In a fan-shot video from the show, we can see Johnson stop mid-song and call the guy a “patriotic straight-edge piece of shit” and tell him to “get the fuck out.” He proceeds to go back-and-forth with some people shouting at him from the audience, at one point saying, “You don’t have to like our band, you don’t have to be here.” Watch video of the encounter and a read a statement from the band below.

Johnson clarified in a statement on Facebook the next day:

I wasn’t able to watch people being hurt so I asked people not to act in the way that was hurting people. If that means you don’t support the band, I respect that. If you don’t want to attend the shows, we respect that. If you’ve bought a ticket to the show and want your money back because you want that to be your experience, we will refund you.

I don’t have an issue with anyone’s lifestyle. I apologize to losing my cool in Houston. I saw someone whose full intention was to harm people and was upset.

I look forward to playing music in a safe environment for everyone from here on out.

UPDATE: Here are some tweets (via Property Of Zack) from the guy that Johnson was apparently yelling at, which demonstrate that he intended to rile up the band before the show even began and “give these bitches a constant headache”:

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