Hayley Williams says she “got blamed for all the shit” in Paramore
Hayley Williams has opened up about her early experience in Paramore, admitting that she feels she was unfairly “blamed for all the shit” that caused their many ruptures throughout the 2010s.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the ‘Ignorance’ singer opened up about her experience of being in the pop-punk band. In 2010, brothers Zac and Josh Farro left the band due to differing religious beliefs, though Zac re-joined and still plays drums in the current iteration of the band. In 2015, Jeremy Davis left the band.
In conversation with long-time friend and collaborator Jack Antonoff, Williams candidly shared, “This is insane to bring up in an interview of this magnitude. But I genuinely felt like I always got blamed for all the shit that would go on in our band, and I never knew if it was [because] I’m the singer. But also at the time, I’m a young girl, and people don’t understand young girls.”
When Antonoff stressed that Williams would have been the only woman in that environment, she admitted, “At times, I wore that like a badge of honor. I can handle this, and I want to protect the whole. But my attitude, whether it’s in the studio [or] the live setting, is I know what I like, and I want to contribute that to it. But I also just love when the vibe is good and everyone’s happy.”
Earlier in the conversation, the two musicians had reminisced about the tour they shared in 2010, when they would huddle together to avoid the backstage drama. Williams quipped sarcastically, “Our band was super fun to hang out with then,” while Antonoff added, “You were fun to hang out with. We just thought you were super friendly.”
In another recent interview, the Paramore frontwoman discussed why she had to “tear down Paramore” to survive; the group are currently on a break following their 2023 album, This Is Why. Williams admitted, “I really didn’t realise how much of Paramore for me was a religious experience, a God, a pillar in my life. You’ve got to deconstruct this system that you were a part of on multiple levels.”
Williams has recently released her third solo album, Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party. Far Out deemed Williams’ new project “an incredible hour-long project overflowing with unique lyricism and boundless energy.”
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