FEATURE:
Easy Street
IN THIS PHOTO: Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme
Songs for the Deaf: Why ‘Controversial’ Men in Music and Their Past Should Not Be Ignored
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THERE are articles…
PHOTO CREDIT: Viktoria Slowikowska/Pexels
that you read and they sort of pass you by. Either they are quite light or you don’t really connect with what is being said. There are others that impact you and stay in your minds. The latter was the case when I read a recent article in The Guardian by Laura Snapes. It concerned men in music whose abusive and dark pasts have not only resulted in little or no punishment and reciprocations. In fact, they are allowed to continue their careers and fans seem to have forgotten, or seem not to care, about their abusiveness and celebrate them. Queens of the Stone Age’s lead, Josh Homme, is the latest case. Someone who assaulted a female photographer at a gig, allegedly abused his ex-wife, Brody Dalle, and has had more than a bit of controversial surrounding him through his career. If it was a woman in music in that position, they would have been cancelled. There would be criticism and ongoing ramifications. For decades, men in music have been called out for appalling and reprehensible behaviour and abuses, yet their careers continue and nothing happens. The #MeToo movement started in 2006, though it was reignited in reached Hollywood in October 2017, triggered by investigative reports into producer Harvey Weinstein. He was eventually brought to justice and imprisoned, though it took multiple brave women and a long wait for them to see a monster behind bars. In terms of music, from Chris Brown and Josh Homme to so other men in the music industry, this movement has not come for them. In fact, #MeToo did not really infiltrate and influence music in the same way it did in Hollywood. Though you can say that it needs to be reignited for Hollywood too, as there are abusive men who continue to act and earn millions. What Laura Snapes wrote about Josh Homme was eye-opening and powerful:
“As part of the promo for Queens of the Stone Age’s new album Perfecth, the band has set up a novelty complaints hotline for fans to call. “No bitching too big, no whiny too tiny,” it promises. I’ll bite: how about the fact that frontman Josh Homme’s ex-wife Brody Dalle testified in court that he head-butted her so hard that she “saw stars” and said he had fantasised about killing her? Or that he kicked a female photographer in the face? It’s certainly not what anyone’s talking about as part of Homme’s friendly neighbourhood rock star image rehabilitation: duetting on Shania Twain’s new album, taking the couch on Celebrity Gogglebox, teatime BBC 6 Music interviews.
Homme and Dalle clearly had a complicated relationship: he allegedly tried to throw her boyfriend off a balcony; he claims that she was violent towards him; both have taken out restraining orders against one another; Homme has full custody of their kids after Dalle’s boyfriend was found to have forged her signature on an application for a restraining order. Homme has recently talked about coming through a dark period, including successful treatment for cancer, and getting a handle on his vices. Nevertheless, there is clear footage of him brutally kicking the camera of photographer Chelsea Lauren back into her face, which he acknowledged in an apology video, and court testimony from Dalle alleging that a drunk Homme told her “I want to fucking strangle you right now” on one occasion, and head-butted her on another.
Almost a decade after the mainstream #MeToo movement, it’s clear that audiences’ nostalgia for artists who made art that meant something to them at a formative age overrides the inconvenience of violence against women. Couple that fondness with an expensive publicity campaign and the counternarrative never stands a chance, easily dismissed as the shrill cries of cranks. I believe firmly in rehabilitation and second chances, but haven’t been able to shake a sense of horror that millions of people can apparently look past allegations and evidence of violence against women when engaging in supposedly feelgood pop culture.
The notion of so-called rock’n’roll behaviour, many have theorised, was partly why music never had much of a “#MeToo moment”, that hopeless relic of a phrase. When bad behaviour isn’t just accepted but venerated, real wrongdoing can be brushed under the same whisky-stained rug. Blind eyes are turned, offenders are remade as outlaws, myths are upheld, party lines toed: “It’s so safe to play along / Little soldiers in a row,” as Homme sang in Go With the Flow. The jokey complaints hotline might be the most honest part of QOTSA’s return: a grim reflection of the fact that nobody is taking this shit seriously any more”.
It is disheartening and disgusting that he is played on stations like BBC Radio 6 Music and interviewed. The station is not the only one who plays Queens of the Stone Age’s music. Though the fact that he is allowed air time and is talked about in adoring tones is tone-deaf and inexcusable. So far, Homme has not faced any significant punishment. He continues to record music and tour. He is played on the radio and there has not been any real issues for him. Now more than ever, the music industry needs its #MeToo movement. If men like R. Kelly and Diddy are imprisoned for their abuses and crimes, they are in the minority. It also took a very long time for them to be brought to justice and, in the case of Diddy, his prison sentence of fifty months is incredibly lenient. Although some blame should be on fans who continue to support these abusive artists and stations who play their music, the industry in general needs to do more. In 2026, we are in a position where high-profile figures like Josh Homme or Chris Brown (his 2009 felony assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna, subsequent domestic abuse allegations, and a recent 2026 guilty plea for an attack in London, have not resulted in imprisonment (bar a two-month prison sentence in 2014, after being kicked out of a court-ordered rehab facility, which violated his probation from his 2009 assault case regarding Rihanna) or cancellation continue to carry on like nothing has happened. Why do fans overlook these men and seemingly forgive what they have done or show no concern for the women who have been affected?! That article in The Guardian is from a female journalist who is asking why a cosy makeover for these men who have done atrocious things but are admired and thrive. There seems to be little disgust and protest from men in the music industry. Very few (if any) who speak out against those who should have faced imprisonment and retribution. In the case of Josh Homme, the likes of Celebrity Gogglebox and BBC Radio 6 Music need to ask themselves some questions. Why allow someone who has this documented history of abuse air and screen time?! The optics are that they either choose to ignore what has come before, or they feel like men of his popularity and status should slide. More than that, you wonder whether they are concerned about the women who have been affected and traumatised.
Josh Homme is not the only culpable male, though he is a prime example of how needed a new #MeToo movement is. For artists like Shania Twain, they really do need to answer criticism and backlash when they record and perform with people like Homme. From the outside, you see these men slide and face very little in the way of torment – some half-assed apologies or regret is simply not good enough! –, and other feel they can slide. That they can commit abuses and violence and get away with it. There is this moment in music where there needs to be protest and unify to ensure that these men are not allowed to thrive and not face any substantial punishment. I did not even really consider how appalling and unjust it is until I read the article. Is it futile holding out hope that those in power in music will do something?! That radio and T.V. stations blacklist and ban those who are accused or abuse and violence?! At the moment, if men have enough power and popularity behind them, they are allowed leniency. This undeserved tolerance and rehabilitation will continue to go on and on. I do think that there needs to action. The issue extends beyond male musicians. At major festivals, there are scores of sexual harassment and assault cases that have an appalling conviction rate. Women in music and D.J.s discussing harassment and abuse. There calls for stronger protections to tackle misogyny in music. Has anything improved or changed in reality?! Such is the width and depth of abuse, misogyny and sexism across music, what is to be done?! You think about the women who are impacted and how they feel. Those who see these high-profile artists spotlighted and treated as though nothing has happened. The anger and disgust they must feel! That Laura Snapes article writes how men with a “chequered history” – we need to call it ‘abuse’ and ‘criminal’, as words like ‘troubled’, ‘controversial’ and ‘chequered’ seem very pale and semi-forgiving – keep their adoring fanbase. How, “Almost a decade post-#MeToo, audiences no longer seem to care”. It is harrowing, angering and enraging that this happens! But if fans and radio stations and the industry seem not to care, what hope is there?! They will continue to celebrate and play these artists. Queens of the Stone Age’s recent single, Easy Street, is, according to Josh Homme, “about understanding the imperfection of your life. The song, like your life, is in the mistakes. Its imperfections are unbeatable”. He seems almost to be making light of allegations against him and the fact that his ‘imperfections’ have caused huge damage. Far from facing backlash and any damage to their careers and earnings, artists like Chris Brown and Josh Homme continue to stroll…
DOWN easy street.