Guitarist Dustie Waring Returns to Between the Buried and Me Following Rape Allegations

Jon Hadusek
·4 min read

The post Guitarist Dustie Waring Returns to Between the Buried and Me Following Rape Allegations appeared first on Consequence.

Editor’s Note: This article contains details involving an alleged sexual assault that may be disturbing to some readers.

Dustie Waring returned to Between the Buried and Me for the band’s set at Furnace Fest on Sunday (September 24th) despite previous rape allegations against the guitarist.

Fans and festivalgoers were surprised to see Waring back onstage with the band after he sat out BTBAM’s summer tour after being accused of raping and impregnating a fan.

Waring shared footage of the band’s Furnace Fest performance on his Instagram stories, as if everything was back to normal in the band’s camp; however, Waring’s return has drawn immediate backlash and ire online, culminating with the entire mod team for BTBAM’s Discord channel stepping down.

Waring’s attorney, Chad Diamond of Chad DIAMOND, P.A., issued the following statement to MetalSucks on Monday (September 25th) following the online reaction:

“Mr. Waring has always maintained his innocence regarding the false allegations against him. He has met those accusations head-on with the truth, and the facts speak for themselves. He has put this unfortunate situation behind him and is thrilled to finally get back to making music.”

On behalf of Waring, Diamond had initially called the allegations “baseless and defamatory” in a statement this past June, adding that Waring was “looking forward to getting back to making music after the summer.”

Many BTBAM fans are not convinced, and took to online platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) to express as much. Wrote user @theoriginalkep: “Reminder that Between the Buried and Me have taken the ‘do nothing and hope nobody calls us on it’ approach to their guitarist being an accused rapist.”

The resignation of BTBAM’s entire Discord moderation team is perhaps the biggest sign of disillusion within the band’s notoriously dedicated fanbase. The team issued the following statement, which read in part:

“Well, here’s an announcement I hoped I’d never have to post. Now that we are able to confirm at minimum that Dustie is on stage at Furnace Fest, and will presumably be playing the other upcoming festivals as he claimed, several things are going into effect:

First, the full mod team has individually but unanimously decided to step down. Take from that what you will. We all appreciate everyone’s support, enthusiasm, and presence over the last 3+ years. I will be transferring control of the server over to [drummer] Blake [Richardson], and he will decide what the future of this is. I have no idea what that may entail. To be clear, he and I have not spoken about this, he will have a message waiting for me when he gets off stage …”

Initial news of the accusations broke back in May after the alleged victim posted a retelling of the incident using an anonymous Reddit account. She accused Waring of raping her while she was inebriated in a bar bathroom five years ago after a show, resulting in a pregnancy that was eventually terminated. The Reddit post also included incriminating screenshots of an Instagram chat between Waring and the victim [via MetalSucks].

In the Reddit post, the alleged victim said she had been drinking throughout the day and was turned away from a BTBAM show that night for being too intoxicated. She apparently went to a nearby bar with friends, where Waring eventually showed up. As a fan, she said she approached Waring to introduce herself, after which Waring proceeded to force more drinks on her.

She then claimed that her recollection of the night began to fade as Waring kept buying her drinks and kissing her at the bar. She said she then woke up with bruises on her hips and wrists and felt vaginal pain. She apparently contacted Waring on Instagram, and he allegedly confirmed that they had had intercourse, telling her to “live a little” (per her screenshots of the conversation).

Waring then issued a statement calling the accusations a “complete shock,” adding at the time: “I will be dealing with this matter privately with my bandmates and discussing any future action with my lawyer in order to protect myself and my family.”

Below you can watch audience footage of Waring’s controversial return to BTBAM at Furnace Fest.

If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual misconduct, you can reach out for support:

RAINN Hotline
1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
http://www.rainn.org

Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741
http://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)

Guitarist Dustie Waring Returns to Between the Buried and Me Following Rape Allegations
Jon Hadusek

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