Campaigners demand UK tour cancellation over Jared Leto claims
Women’s safety campaigners are urging organisers to cancel Thirty Seconds to Mars’ upcoming UK concerts. The calls follow serious allegations of criminal sexual conduct against frontman Jared Leto.
A BBC investigation published last week featured accounts from four women accusing the musician and actor of sexual assault and grooming. The alleged incidents reportedly took place across the 2000s and 2010s.
At the time, the women were teenagers while Leto was in his 30s and 40s. He is now 54 years old and strongly denies all the allegations against him.
Leto’s band is currently set to perform at two major UK arenas next April, in London and Manchester. Both the End Violence Against Women coalition and domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid have voiced concern over the shows going ahead.
A Women’s Aid spokesperson told BBC Newsbeat it was troubling that concerts platforming an alleged abuser were still being planned. The charity urged organisers to prioritise safety over profit rather than continue giving such figures a stage.
Janaya Walker, interim director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, echoed that sentiment. She said the issue ultimately comes down to prioritising people, particularly women and girls, over commercial interests.
Walker described the continued sale of tickets for the London and Manchester shows as deeply worrying. She warned it could cause real distress among survivors of gender-based violence, who may see coverage of the allegations followed by business proceeding as usual.
Thirty Seconds to Mars, known for hits like “The Kill” and “This Is War,” was formed by Leto and his brother in the late 1990s. The band has since grown into a major international touring act.
A related BBC documentary features former band associates describing discomfort around how Leto interacted with teenage girls backstage. One alleges young girls were regularly invited to meet him after concerts and at private residences.
Among the accusers is a former model who says she felt compelled to lie about her age when meeting Leto at 19. She alleges a disturbing comment from Leto during a private encounter that followed.
In total, ten women spoke to the BBC documentary, with nine sharing their accounts publicly for the first time. Leto did not respond to the BBC’s initial questions but later issued a firm denial, calling the accusations completely false.
