Simple Plan Taking a “Pause” After Removing Bassist David Desrosiers Following Sexual Assault Allegations

Canadian-based rock band Simple Plan have recently announced parting ways with their bassist David Desrosiers after allegations of sexual assault have come to light, simultaneously announcing that the band as a whole are taking a “pause.” As previously reported on Brooklyn Vegan, “Following recent public statements, David Desrosiers is withdrawing from the band in order to work on his personal issues,’ reads the official statement from the band. ‘”We offer our deepest apologies to the women who were hurt by his actions. We are also sorry for all our fans who are disappointed by this regretful situation. We will, as a band, take time to pause, reflect and put in place guidelines to prevent similar situations from happening.'”

The formation of Simple Plan dates back to 1999, with the band not getting their big break until the release of their 2002 debut full-length studio album, No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls. The collectives subsequent releases includes: their 2004 sophomore album Still Not Getting Any…, 2008’s self-titled third album Simple Plan, their third album 2011’s Get Your Heart On! and 2016’s Taking One for the Team. The current touring roster lineup is comprised of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals), Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums) and Jeff Stinco (lead guitar).

As previously noted in the aforementioned Brooklyn Vegan article, “As reported in Exclaim!, over the last few weeks, there have been a number of Instagram accounts started “victims_voices” in their profile name that have shared #MeToo stories across Canada. The most prominent of the allegations against Desrosiers came from @victims_voices_montreal and was translated from French by Twitter uses @kidrauhlmontrea: