Slowthai’s festival bookings this summer appear to be in jeopardy after his court appearance yesterday (May 16) on two charges of raping a woman in 2021. Major UK festivals Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals appear to have scrubbed the rapper’s names from posters, as NME points out. He no longer features on the poster for Parklife festival, either. His other scheduled festival bookings in Europe currently seem unchanged, based on their websites. None of the festivals have so far issued statements.
News of the charges broke yesterday when Slowthai attended a procedural court hearing, where the case was referred to a crown court, which deals with more serious offenses. His next appearance is set for June 16. On social media, he denied the charges.
Pitchfork has emailed representatives for the festivals, as well as for Blur, whom Slowthai is booked to support in July at London’s Wembley Stadium. Representatives for the Reading and Leeds Festivals offered no comment.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
http://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HELLO” or “HOLA” to 741-741
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