The Vans Warped Tour is a musical celebration that hits the road every summer showcasing musical acts from every facet of music.
Every year they slowly announce the lineup that will travel across the country to perform for music fans of all ages. One of those newly announced has earned quite some controversy over the past few weeks that may cause him to be kicked off the tour before it even begins.
Jake McElfresh, who goes by the stage name “Front Porch Step”, is a performer who has just been accused of sexual harassment from multiple young girls. McElfresh reportedly sent sexually explicit text messages and has received and sent nude photos, all from underage aged girls.
These accusations have resulted in a petition on Change.org, that is demanding that McElfresh to be taken off the tour, which caters to patrons of all ages, who may be at risk.
So far over ten thousand petitioners have signed up to remove his acts name from the lineup, and Warped Tour founder, Kevin Lyman is debating whether or not he should listen to these pleas. He stated that “I am on vacation, and when I get home, [the Front Porch Step] allegations will be [completely] vetted,” but has retuned home early to review the allegations.
McElfresh has released a statement regarding the accusations where he said, “I am aware of the serious allegations and sensational things being posted on the Internet about me and my personal life. While this is personally difficult to experience, I am taking the appropriate, meaningful, and objective steps to address the severity of these things and the horrendous words being used. I would truly hope that others who have or will propagate these serious allegations will do the same.”
McElfresh’s label, Pure Noise Records, has not yet dropped the artist, but is reviewing the case very closely before they make a decision about the artist’s status.
This is a complete abuse of stardom, especially if you are a musician or celebrity, which young fans can look up to. If the alleged texts and photos are true, than he will lose all support from most music labels and will certainly lose a large amount of his fan base.
Photo: Pure Noise Records
