He watched as a woman being groped and stood up for her in the middle of the show
Concerts should be fun, safe spaces where everyone in attendance feels free to appreciate the music in any way they see fit. Unfortunately, they’re not always that way for women. Sam Carter, lead singer of the Architects, recently stopped a festival show to call out a sexual assault he witnessed in the crowd during his show.
The band was performing at a festival in the Netherlands on Friday night when Carter saw a man grope a woman who was crowd-surfing. A Dutch radio station recorded Carter’s fiery speech and posted it to Twitter.
[Warning: He drops plenty of F-bombs, so if the kiddos are around you may want watch later.]
'So, i've been going over in my f*cking mind about whether I should say something about what I saw during that last song….' @Architectsuk pic.twitter.com/zm5L4zlXpw
— NPO 3FM (@3FM) August 18, 2017
“I saw a girl, a woman, crowdsurfing over here, and I’m not gonna f-ing point the piece of shit out that did it, but I saw you f-ing grab at her boob,” Carter said. “I saw it. It is f-ing disgusting and there is no f-ing place for that shit.”
Musicians seem to becoming more vocal about not standing for this type of horse shit during shows, demonstrated recently by Circa Survive guitarist Brendan Ekstrom earlier this summer. Ekstrom walked off stage to stand up for a woman who was assaulted during the band’s show.
As for Carter, he continued to address the Netherlands concert incident by driving the point home to the crowd.
“It is not your f-ing body. It is not your f-ing body and you do not f-ing grab at someone. Not at my f-ing show.”
While crowd-surfing undoubtedly leaves those participating in a vulnerable state at the hands of a ton of complete strangers, the worst thing anyone should fear is falling. Not being sexually groped and utterly traumatized when you’re just trying to embrace the music and the energy of the concert.
People all over Twitter are applauding Carter for standing up for the woman and directly addressing the crowd, attracting new fans in the process.
@samarchitects thank you for saying something, it makes me so happy to see that people are talking about this issue instead of ignoring it
(@mayday_cait) August 19, 2017
I have never heard this bands songs before but I'm gonna fukken check it out now. Respect
I have no idea who you are but I can tell you that I love you and you have a new 'Mom Fan' in Portland, Oregon.
(@mel_med_larson) August 19, 2017
I started sneaking into shows in high school and have seen countless bands.This is the FIRST I've heard a band call out this obvious problem pic.twitter.com/yrioyY7veA
(@TehSoundTehFury) August 19, 2017
good on u for calling it out, so tired of some men thinking they're entitled to grope women simply for daring to enjoy their time at a show
— rei (@illscum) August 19, 2017
As for Carter, he stands firm on his stance.
There's no room for this at any kind of show. https://t.co/u0gk4wnQNT
— Sam Carter (@samarchitects) August 18, 2017
Hopefully other musicians follow suit and speak up when they see abuse happening right in front of them at their shows.