Sigur Rós Drummer Orri Páll Dýrason Quits Icelandic Band After Sexual Assault Allegation

Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós announced on Monday that drummer Orri Páll Dýrason would be leaving the group following an accusation of sexual assault.

“In the wake of the extremely serious and personal allegations made against him in recent days, we have today accepted the resignation of our bandmate Orri Páll Dýrason to allow him to deal with this privately,” band members Jónsi and Georg Hólm wrote on Facebook.

Los Angeles artist Meagan Boyd announced the allegation against 41-year-old Dyrason on Instagram last week. She claimed the drummer assaulted her twice after meeting with her at a club in L.A. in 2013. Body’s Instagram post has now been deleted.

“I woke up with the feeling of being penetrated without my consent during a deep slumber,” she wrote. “No one deserves to be raped/touched/licked/f—ed without CONSENT.”

Boyd stated she gained the courage to reveal her assault after seeing California-based psychology professor Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testify before the Senate on Thursday about her own similar experience at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Those hearings came at around the one-year mark of the #MeToo movement that has seen dozens of famous men fall from grace amid accusations of sexual harassment and assault.

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According to Pitchfork, Body also previously posted to Instagram an email exchange between her and Dyrason in which he denied her claims. These posts have also since been deleted.

Dyrason has been with Sigur Ros since 1999. The Icelandic band made a guest cameo appearance on the fourth season of the popular HBO series Game of Thrones in 2014.

Here is the full statement the drummer posted Monday on Facebook about the allegations. The statement was shared in both English and Icelandic:

“I begin with thanking my friends and relatives for the support you have shown. It is good for me feel for your trust, despite the serious public allegations against me.

This matter has undeniably taken its toll on me for the past few days. Justifiably, some will say, and I do not intend to argue with those people. However, I sincerely ask the same people to steer their anger into the right path and abstain from dragging my family, and especially my wife, into this matter. At the same time, I ask people to stay calm and not to be divided into two battling armies, these are not court proceedings, just Meagan’s words against mine, on the internet. Loud and provocative words are in nobody’s favour – neither to me or her.

In light of the scale of this matter, I have decided to leave Sigur Rós. That is a difficult decision for me, but I cannot have these serious allegations influence the band and the important and beautiful work that has been done there for the last years. A job that is so dear to me.

I will do anything in my power to get myself out of this nightmare, but out of respect for those actually suffering from sexual violence, I will not take that fight public.

Love
Orri”