In mid March 2021, multiple allegations of The 1975’s best friend, videographer and music video director Adam Powell acting inappropriately towards fans of the band (some as young as 14) were shared online.

These allegations include:

• sending nudes to underage and overage fans
• soliciting nudes from underage and overage fans
• sending inappropriate sexual messages to minors
• groping a 16 year old fan at a concert in Pittsburgh

Claims about Adam Powell’s behavior were first brought to the band and Jamie Oborne (their manager from All On Red Management, and founder of their label Dirty Hit)’s attention in 2016/2017. His behavior was an open secret in the fandom. This is not the first time the band/Dirty Hit have heard about this.

Adam Powell used his position when, proximity to, and friendship with The 1975 to manipulate and groom their young fans.

This is not about one person’s story. Many people have come forward with stories about inappropriate behaviour from Adam Powell.

The 1975 have claimed to be a feminist band, and their usually outspoken lead singer Matty Healy has given big speeches about misogyny and women’s rights at times when it gained them great, positive media coverage. Their careers were undoubtedly furthered by using feminist rhetoric. Yet, when they found out about their own friend and employee’s behaviour in 2016/2017, they didn’t do the right thing and stop working with him. Instead, they allowed their friend (who preyed on their fans) to continue working with and travelling with them, taking him all over the world and exposing him to many more fans.

In an effort to maintain their image and avoid negative press coverage, the band and Dirty Hit have refused to make a public statement acknowledging the claims against Adam Powell. They are putting their own reputations above doing the right thing.

Jamie Oborne has hired a private investigator (PI), and victims are not willing to risk their safety by speaking with this PI due to the fact they are likely protecting their own business interests and not the victims. Jamie Oborne said he would sort out this situation in 2017 and then did nothing. Jamie Oborne has also named a victim of Adam Powell’s to multiple fans in Instagram DMs, so the victims are not safe to speak with anyone associated with Jamie Oborne or Dirty Hit. He and his friends have been doxxing and trying to intimidate victims from speaking to their PI by releasing their names to multiple random fans on Instagram. Why would victims trust this man’s investigation to have their own safety and best interests at heart while behaving this way?

There shouldn’t even be a need for a PI when Adam Powell’s behavior was an open secret. If the PI spoke with Adam Powell, he should admit to his behaviour. If the PI spoke to Jamie Oborne, he should admit he was told about it years ago. The victims, who have shared their stories online already, should not have to risk their safety to speak with a PI for Jamie Oborne’s benefit.

As fans of The 1975, we are asking that The 1975 (Matty Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald and George Daniel) and Dirty Hit:

1. Make a public statement acknowledging the claims against Adam Powell
2. Make a public apology to the victims of Adam Powell, since they ignored his behavior and continued to work with him after finding out about his behavior in 2016/2017
3. Make a public apology to their fans for letting them down and exposing them to a predator, and forcing a group of them to spend more than two months in 2021 fighting for them to make this situation right
4. Make a commitment not to work with Adam Powell or any predators again
5. Let us know what steps they are going to take to ensure this type of behavior will not happen again from any of their employees / independent  contractors

The following accounts provide the most up-to-date information about this case:

Instagram: @ believe_women4 (the original account sharing stories)

Twitter: @believe_women4 (also run by the same person running the Instagram)

Instagram: @romanticisingthe1975​

Instagram: @tweetsformattyhealy​

Instagram: @dlidsource 

If you or anyone you know has a story or information (not necessarily just related to Adam Powell) to share, your identity will be treated with the strictest confidence. You can message @believe_women4 on Instagram or Twitter to share what you know.