Photo Credit: Drew Ressler / CC by 3.0
Georgia’s Gateway Center Arena cancels Bassnectar’s shows over sexual assault allegations which the EDM producer denies.
Electronic producer Bassnectar, who was scheduled to play two shows at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, will not be performing at the venue following public backlash from an ongoing sexual assault lawsuit. The Gateway Arena has canceled both shows originally scheduled for April.
The producer, whose legal name is Lorin Ashton, has denied the allegations. Nevertheless, the Gateway Center Arena quickly canceled the shows and announced the launch of an “internal evaluation of the matter.”
“Upon learning about the allegations facing the artist Bassnectar, who was set to perform at the Gateway Center Arena on April 26 and 27, the Gateway Center Arena and City of College Park teams launched an internal evaluation of the matter,” the venue wrote in a post on social media on Thursday. “The safety and well-being of our community are of the utmost importance and as such, we have decided to cancel the event.”
The lawsuit originated in April 2021, when two women sued Ashton with allegations that he engaged in the sexual abuse of minors, human trafficking, and child pornography. Two more women joined the lawsuit a month later, though one of those women, who had wished to remain anonymous, withdrew from the lawsuit when the court required her to reveal her legal name. The case is currently in discovery, with a trial scheduled to begin in February 2025.
“Lorin Ashton has always denied these outrageous and offensive allegations,” said the producer’s attorneys in a statement to Billboard. “He’s never been found liable for anything or even charged with anything. This mob-driven decision is cancel culture gone mad. It is beyond appalling, and we can only hope American society will return to its senses before too much more damage is done.”
Georgia isn’t the only state to have canceled Bassnectar shows amid the allegations. In October, two shows were canceled that had been scheduled at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina. Since his “comeback” launched last year, Bassnectar has played a pair of sold-out shows in Las Vegas in October, and another pair of sold-out shows in New York City on New Year’s Eve.
