Last week, Twitter user wary (@warysanchhh) brought attention to some LANY lyrics that seemed a bit questionable… a bit stalker-ish, in their opinion.
According to the user, the lyrics of If You See Her, released in 2018, evokes a sense of unease— and replies affirmed her discomfort with the lyrics.
One user writes, “if they love you so bad, you run.” While the response clearly poked fun at their most popular song, it certainly rings a few alarms if you really think about it.
“don’t know what she left me for
she won’t talk to me anymore”hahahahshdhssjsk if this ain’t harassment 😭
— wary (@warysanchhh) June 11, 2021
Aside from their lyrics, the band itself has been perceived as problematic in the past.
A Twitter thread released by hails (@hahlys) in December of last year, publicized messages from some exes of LANY’s lead singer, Paul Klein. Hails protects the identity of the exes by keeping them anonymous as they describe the nature of their relationships with Paul Klein.
The exes describe Klein as “emotionally abusive,” speaking about how he manipulates and gaslights women and maintains “romantic” relationships with more than one girl at a time.
if you don’t know now u know – paul klein is an emotionally manipulative manchild & has domestic abuse allegations. and these are all coming from a recent ex. don’t support LANY pic.twitter.com/ZdmYd6nyIc
— hailey (@hahlys) December 7, 2020
Klein, who is currently 33-years-old, is also exposed as someone who preys on and grooms minors. On ‘twitterunroll.com’, user hails (@hahlys) provides more direct messages from Klein’s exes, describing their experiences within their relationships.
One person explained how Klein did not ask how old she was before engaging in sexual relations, “he never asked [for my age] just asked if I was in college” This person was 19 at the time while Klein was 31.
One ex states that “it’s one thing to date, almost everyone does. It’s another to consistently go for vulnerable people and use your power over them to manipulate them while building your career off young people and claiming to be something you’re not.”
Aside from Klein, Lewis Usher, (former) guitar tech and stage manager to the band has also been accused of targeting minors while touring. After these accusations were publicized, Usher tweeted that he was “stepping down” from his roles with LANY.
One Twitter user explains her own experience concerning Usher and how “they haven’t even addressed it. [They] let him leave instead of firing him.”
Hail’s Twitter thread elicited a massive response, replies range from those defending the exes and those defending LANY.
Due to the targeted nature of these allegations, some users have stated that their actions should not drag down the entire band. Other users have reacted to these by saying that due to the lack of a response from the band (whether as a unit or separately) those “not involved” are complicit with the actions of Klein and Usher since they are not actively speaking out against them.
People have also touch on the idea of “separating the artist from their work,” which were refuted as well.
With all the accusations on those within (and around) the band, the artists themselves have not released any official statements regarding these issues. It’s important to note that all of these are allegations, but possibly even more important to note is the fact that LANY chooses to ignore these rather than address them.
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