'This Is F--ked' — Parkway Drive Singer Posts Emotional Apology After Band Associate Pleads Guilty to Underage Sex Offense

In the wake of recent band associate Jed Gordon pleading guilty to a sex offense with a minor, Parkway Drive's Winston McCall has issued an emotional apology via the band's Instagram page in which he speaks openly about the band's feelings on the events that have transpired and goes deeper than their initial statement on the matter.

It was recently revealed that Jed Daniel Gordon, a longtime member of the group's merch team and a relative of the band's drummer Ben Gordon, pled guilty in a recent court proceeding of having intercourse with a minor between the ages of 14 and 16. Over the weekend, the band issued a statement condemning the action, broaching his association with the group and revealing that his contract had been terminated. But taking some criticism over the basic nature of the statement, singer Winston McCall has since recorded a video sharing his thoughts on the matter.

What Did Winston McCall Say About Parkway Drive's Thoughts on Jed Gordon's Actions?

Though the band's initial statement shared their support for the victim, McCall's video statement on Instagram shared the emotion and the seriousness of how they feel about the matter.

“No. 1, we support the victim. We support the victim 100 percent. She deserves justice. She deserves her space. She deserves her time. She deserves to be heard. We 100 percent support that after 20 years of trauma. I cannot imagine what that is like to bear,” the singer emotionally shared.

“No. 2. We condemn this. We condemn this without hesitation. If there was anything in our initial response that left people wondering anything about that. I want to make this crystal clear for everyone — this is fucked. This is fucked and this is Jed’s reckoning to answer for. It’s his reckoning and he will answer for it,” he added.

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McCall went on to share, “We employed him for a long time and we put him in a position where he had contact with a lot of people. It’s our moral responsibility to carry. We see it and we hold it. We always try to see the best in people and sometimes that means you’re blind to the worst. Anyone who’s had bad interactions with Jed while [he was] employed with us, we’re so sorry.

“We knew he could be bad with people and our reaction, there’s no excuse for that. I apologize, but we did not know the extent of his behavior. We did not know. We’ve been completely blindsided by this. The band found out about this through screenshots of court dates and documents that were already online circulating. We’re still finding out new information from a Sydney Morning Herald article we were apart of yesterday.”

“If our initial response came across as cold, I want to say that was never our intent. We take this situation really, really seriously and we also recognize our position, in this band, we’re a really big band, and we also have a connection, a family connection, and we did not want to do anything to jeopardize the justice system. We did not want to impede that, but we can definitely understand if people felt there was a coldness to our communication and if we hurt someone, we’re sorry for that. This is us putting the human connection to it.”

Winston McCall Makes a Plea to the Music Scene

The Parkway Drive singer used a portion of his time to speak about the community in which the band came up in and how they've tried to provide a better space for all. He then directly spoke to both male and female members of the music community.

“To the women, women deserved to be safe. Women deserve to be heard. Women deserve to be seen and women deserve to be respected. Every person watching this now knows a sexual assault survivor. You might not know it, but you do. Every woman in your life has been sexually harassed. It’s unacceptable. If it’s heartbreaking, it should be heartbreaking. This is a societal issue with the culture and we need to change it," he commented.

"We as men need to do better. We need to stand up and we need to be better. And I’m not trying to say all men are bad, all men are horrible. I’m not trying to tie everyone up with the same brush. I’m just trying to say this is a community and communities look inside in these moments and they take responsibility and they act and that’s how things get better. We’ve got to take account," continued McCall.

“To the women in this scene, you are so valued and so important. You’re so welcome and you are so essential. To the men in this scene, don’t stand for bullshit. I know it can be hard to speak up. I find it hard to speak up and I’ve got a microphone in front of everyone. But we’ve gotta do it. You’ve gotta look at your mates, you’ve gotta look at your friends and you’ve gotta look at your peers and you’ve gotta ask the hard question. You’ve gotta speak out and that’s how change happens," he added.

“This music has always been about more than just the sound to me. That’s the thing. It’s about the community. It’s about the community. And communities are responsible and they’re taking accountability. So this is it. This is what this band stands for. It stands for community. It always has and it always will. So that’s what we’ve gotta do,” McCall concluded. The full video can be viewed below.

Gordon is currently scheduled for sentencing on May 19. The outcome of the sentencing for the case following his guilty plea has not yet been determined.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, resources are available for help. Visit the RAINN website (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) or dial 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673).