Hedleysa国际传媒檚 frontman suggested Friday that the groupsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渋ndefinite hiatussa国际传媒� may not be permanent as the pop-rockers closed out their toursa国际传媒檚 final show in Kelowna under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations.
sa国际传媒淭his is goodnight, not goodbye,sa国际传媒� Jacob Hoggard told boisterous fans. sa国际传媒淪o stay in our lives. And Kelowna, I will promise I will stay in yours.sa国际传媒�
The floor seats at Prospera Place were mostly filled, but the arena had large empty spaces in the stands.
READ MORE: Hedley withdraws from Junos, plans to discuss sa国际传媒榟ow we have let some people downsa国际传媒�
READ MORE: Refunds given out for Hedley concerts
The day before the concert, the venue said about 3,000 tickets had sold and shows there tend to hold a maximum of roughly 5,000.
Hoggard has denied ever engaging in non-consensual sexual behaviour, but he admits he has behaved in a way that objectifies women.
The group has been dropped by its management team, blacklisted by scores of radio stations and abandoned by musicians booked as tour openers.
Ahead of the Kelowna show, fans were handing out flyers in support of the band.
Laura Carruthers made 3,000 photocopies asking people to sign a petition urging radio stations to reinstate airplay for the band.
She was in the parking lot outside the arena handing out the pages, which have the phrase #istandforhedley written on them with hearts drawn in red glitter.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檒l always be standing by them. Because itsa国际传媒檚 allegations, itsa国际传媒檚 not actually a charge yet,sa国际传媒� Carruthers said.
Valerie Rivet, who travelled from Ottawa to see her favourite band for the 33rd time, said the accusations against Hoggard havensa国际传媒檛 been proven, and if they ever are, she would re-evaluate her love of the band.
sa国际传媒淭witter is not a court of law,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淔or now I stand with them.sa国际传媒�
Kris Jerstad was standing outside Prospera Place with two $75 floor seats he was hoping to sell.
He said his daughter bought them months ago, but no longer wanted them after the allegations against Hoggard came to light.
sa国际传媒淪hesa国际传媒檚 refusing to see them,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淪he sticks to what she believes in.sa国际传媒�
Minutes before the show started, Jerstad gave away the tickets to a woman for free and left.
Toronto police have said they are investigating Hoggard, but no charges have been laid.
Online accusations began surfacing last month suggesting inappropriate encounters with young fans.
A 24-year-old Ottawa fan of the band alleged to the CBC in February that she was sexually assaulted by Hoggard after chatting with him on the dating app Tinder and agreeing to meet him at a hotel in Toronto.
The CBC published another report weeks later of a Toronto woman who alleges Hoggard tried to force her to do things without her consent during a sexual encounter in 2016.
A Calgary radio host has also alleged that Hoggard groped her and made lewd remarks to her seven years ago.
In announcing he would be putting his career on hold, Hoggard said he would make real changes in his life, seeking guidance from his family and learning from the sa国际传媒渁mazing women in my life.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淭he way Isa国际传媒檝e treated women was reckless and dismissive of their feelings. I understand the significant harm that is caused not only to the women I interacted with, but to all women who are degraded by this type of behaviour,sa国际传媒� he wrote in a statement posted to his Twitter account Feb. 28.
sa国际传媒淚 have been careless and indifferent and I have no excuse. For this I am truly sorry.sa国际传媒�
Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
