Kirin J Callinan Finally Responds To His Laneway Cancellation
He hasn't apologised for flashing his dick, but he has backed Miss Blanks.
Just shy of two weeks after St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival quietly removed him from their 2018 line-up, Kirin J Callinan has spoken out in defence of Laneway act Miss Blanks.
In an Instagram post last night, Callinan told his followers that Miss Blanks, who spoke out publicly about why she didn’t want to share a line-up with the Sydney musician, shouldn’t “take the blame” for Laneway’s decision “regardless o the role she may have played.”
“She is the exact sort of artist we should all support ~ bold, original, flamboyant, progressive & with somethin to say,” he wrote. “Furthermore, it mortifies me to think that she could now be made to feel unwelcome in any way, shape or fabulous form ~ onstage, backstage or on her ig page, at any stage.
“So I’m saying so, demanding it now, there will be no harassment… there will be tolerance & there will be respect. I’m serious. Deadly.”
Miss Blanks applauded Laneway for removing Callinan from the line-up earlier this month, and confirmed that she was among a group of Laneway artists who asked organisers to cut Kirin after he exposed his genitals at the 2017 ARIA Awards.
“I applaud the organisers of Laneway’s decision to remove Kirin J Callinan from the festival lineup,” she wrote on Instagram. “His long and recent history of reckless and insensitive actions reinforces an entitlement which permits Kirin and others like him to dismiss valid issues, and normalises racism, ableism and sexual assault. Amidst the ‘me too’ discussions, it’s important to see preventative actions as well as support systems.”
While he’s revealed that he’s “disappointed” to be off the Laneway line-up, Callinan still hasn’t made a public apology for his behaviour at the ARIA Awards or owned up to acting like a fuckwit. Also silent is Laneway themselves, who declined to make any public statement about why they removed Kirin from the line-up — leaving Miss Blanks to cop the heat alone.
The Laneway tour kicks off in Adelaide this Friday.