Hedley's Hamilton show going ahead amid sex assault allegations

Hedley's show in Hamilton next month is still going ahead, even as sexual assault and misconduct charges against the pop-rock band continue to mount.

The company that runs the Hamilton venue says it is aware of the allegations against the band and is "reviewing the situation closely" as Hedley's March 6 show at FirstOntario Centre approaches.

"We're got our eye on it," said Michaella Putman, director of marketing for Core Entertainment, which runs FirstOntario Centre.

"We are continuing to review the situation closely."

Putmandeclined to comment when asked what it would take to cancel the show.

Caesars Windsor announced today that Hedley'sperformance in that city onMarch 11 has been cancelled.

"We will not be making any further comments beyond this point," a statement fromCaesarsWindsor reads.

In recent weeks, dozens of mainly anonymous women have spoken out on social media about alleged negative experiences with the B.C. band.

The attention those allegations have drawn prompted Hedley's management to drop the group, which has also been blacklisted by several radio stations, including CBC. Last Monday, the band withdrew from consideration for this year's Juno Awards.

CBC News reported allegationsyesterday from a 24-year-old Ottawa woman, who says the band's frontman, Jacob Hoggard, sexually assaulted her in a Toronto hotel room.

Hoggard denies the allegation and says the pair had consensual sex in his hotel room.

In a previous statement, the band saidit is moving ahead with two dozen shows it has booked through March 23 because "the easy thing to do would be to cancel the tour and hide."

The statement adds that the band intends "to start making positive changes, starting right now."

Lenore Lukasik-Foss, thedirector of theSexual Assault Centre ofHamiltonand Area (SACHA), says those statements ring hollow.

"There seems to be a real dance around thiscoming from the band. That's concerning," she said.

"I'm wondering why the venues are proceeding ... I'm surprised that fans would still be going."

I'm wondering why the venues are proceeding ... I'm surprised that fans would still be going.- Lenore Lukasik-Foss, director, Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton and Area

As the tour has continued, fans have continued to show upand voice their support for the band.Several fans lined the front row of Hedley's recent Barrie show with handmade signs thatread #IStandWithHedley.

Lukasik-Fosssays that kind of messaging makes coming forward even more difficult forsexual assault survivors.

"I think it sends a message where our knee jerk reaction is people are making these things up ... when we know false reporting is low," she said. "Folks need to see the price is quite high when survivors come forward."

According to a report from the National Sexual Violence Resource Centre cited by SACHA, only two to eight per centof rape claims are false reports.

adam.carter@cbc.ca