Josh Farro is not happy with the statement posted on Paramore's official site about his exit with his brother Zac Farro. He slammed frontwoman Hayley Williams for not making the announcement a joint statement, but rather writing it from her point of view and releasing it without his permission.
"I had a statement typed ready to post to you guys but Hayley released one without my permission. We were not going to issue a statement until we worked out our exit agreement with Hayley," he started. "I did not think Hayley's version told the whole story, at least from our perspective and hopefully this will explain a bit about why we are leaving."
In the previous open letter, it was mentioned that "for the last year it hasn't seemed as if they [Josh and Zac] wanted to be around anymore," so the departure was not surprising for Hayley, Jeremy Davis and Taylor York.
But in his own statement posted on his blog, Josh mentioned it was Hayley and her management team who created unbearable environment in the band that he and his brother decided to leave. "I had a statement typed ready to post to you guys but Hayley released one without my permission. We were not going to issue a statement until we worked out our exit agreement with Hayley," he started. "I did not think Hayley's version told the whole story, at least from our perspective and hopefully this will explain a bit about why we are leaving."
In the previous open letter, it was mentioned that "for the last year it hasn't seemed as if they [Josh and Zac] wanted to be around anymore," so the departure was not surprising for Hayley, Jeremy Davis and Taylor York.
In the beginning of their career, Hayley once quit the band and attempted to pursue a solo career but failed and rejoined them. According to Josh, they did demos together, but they were never included in negotiations with record label. Finally, it was Hayley, not Paramore, who got signed, and he felt the band were only used to showcase her.
Josh said the band were put "in the dark the whole time." He shared, "Hayley's father ... would constantly threaten to 'pull the plug' on the whole band if we complained about anything, suggesting that we were hired guns and Hayley was the real artist, when in reality we were also part of the band. We've always been treated as less important than Hayley. It's been obvious how her family views things."
Things got worse, according to him. "What started as natural somehow morphed into a manufactured product of a major label, riding on the coattails of 'Hayley's dream'," he vented on his frustration. Confirming that he dated Hayley but broke up with her during the "Riot!" cycle, Josh stated further, "Things then started going downhill for our band. Hayley and Jeremy's views started changing from what we all once believed in."