Witch Fever urge Obtain pageant to “rethink assertion implementing ambiguous and transphobic EHRC tips”

Witch Fever have inspired Obtain Competition to make clear their assertion revealed earlier over considerations that the pageant is “implementing ambiguous and transphobic EHRC tips”.

The rock and metallic pageant is ready to return to its house of Donington Park, Leicestershire, subsequent month – working between June 13-15. Inexperienced Day, Sleep Token and KoRn will all be first-time headliners, and different names on the invoice embrace Weezer, Intercourse Pistols that includes Frank Carter, Jimmy Eat World, Poppy, Detest, Jerry Cantrell and extra.

Controversy arose over screenshots of an e-mail question regarding the pageant’s coverage on what bogs trans attendees ought to use. “We shall be following the interim steering issued by the Equalities and Human Rights Fee (EHRC) on 25 April 2025 right here,” the e-mail learn. “Their steering states that ‘trans ladies (organic males) shouldn’t be permitted to make use of the ladies’s amenities and trans males (organic ladies) shouldn’t be permitted to make use of the lads’s amenities’”.

Quite a few artists together with NOAHFINNCE, Zand and Pinkshift known as the pageant out on-line and Witch Fever was amongst them, calling the coverage “an entire fuckin’ tragedy”. In the meantime, Harpy – who’s enjoying the pageant this 12 months – mentioned she had reached out to the pageant’s staff encouraging them to “join with somebody who can characterize the trans neighborhood and educate them on higher options shifting ahead”.

In response, Obtain issued an announcement wherein they clarified that almost all of their bogs can be gender impartial.

We stand with all members of our neighborhood and wish everybody to really feel secure, supported and welcome at Obtain pic.twitter.com/TSMIhZFLJZ

— Obtain Competition (@DownloadFest) May 28, 2025

“On the coronary heart of Obtain is acceptance – we stand with all members of our neighborhood and wish everybody to really feel secure, supported and welcome on the pageant,” the assertion started. “We need to reassure all of our prospects that at Obtain, the vast majority of bogs shall be gender impartial and accessible to all. There may even be single intercourse bogs supplied. Obtain Competition has all the time been and stays for everybody.”

“We sincerely apologise {that a} earlier communication on this was not clear. We’re trying ahead to seeing you at Obtain this 12 months.”

Now, Witch Fever have shared a brand new message expressing concern over the assertion, questioning if the pageant will proceed to observe the “ambiguous and transphobic” EHRC tips or not.

“If the one intercourse bogs nonetheless observe the EHRC tips this isn’t ok,” they mentioned.

“The rules outline organic intercourse by an individual’s chromosomal make-up. We ask you t6 verify how you propose to implement these tips. Will chromosome assessments be performed outdoors the bathroom amenities? On what grounds will a take a look at be administered? Will a judgment merely be made on how masculine/female an individual seems? Who will resolve this? Will trans males be allowed within the women amenities following this steering?

“It is a harmful rhetoric to take and never solely dangerous to all GNC individuals however all ladies, no matter their gender assigned at delivery.

“How do you propose to maintain queer individuals secure at your pageant whereas implementing transphobic tips? Are you in any respect conscious of the unsafe place you set a trans girl in by not letting her rightfully use ladies’s amenities?

The band continued: “We implore you to not observe tips set by our ever proper wing leaning governing and statutory our bodies, which in the end quantity to segregation.

“We guarantee you that this ‘clarification’ doesn’t present any queer, GNC and trans individuals with peace of thoughts.

“We ask you to query the credibility of those tips earlier than alienating your queer viewers, earlier than including to the rising policing of girls’s our bodies and, satirically, earlier than inflicting a hindrance to ladies’s security.

“Please don’t bounce on the tradition struggle in opposition to trans individuals. Please make Obtain an inclusive and secure atmosphere for all. We’ve got cherished enjoying your pageant and wish it to proceed being a secure place for all to attend.”

Witch Fever’s name for readability – and extra transparency on their stance on trans inclusivity – has been echoed by different artists. NOAHFINNCE mentioned he had been in “direct contact” with Obtain over their coverage however later mentioned on X that when he had seen the unique assertion, he felt that the difficulty wanted to be addressed extra straight.

“i and as I’m positive plenty of others nonetheless don’t really feel like the difficulty at hand has ACTUALLY been addressed…” he wrote.

(Btw I hadnt seen their “assertion” on the time of scripting this tweet, i and as I’m positive plenty of others nonetheless don’t really feel like the difficulty at hand has ACTUALLY been addressed… on a household vacation proper now however will strive getting in touch once more)

— NOAHFINNCE👹 (@noahfinnadams) May 28, 2025

Zand additionally criticised the assertion on their Instagram story. “This nonetheless doesn’t deal with the difficulty delivered to consideration within the first place.. we already know many of the bogs are gender impartial because the portaloos are usually at any pageant however to say single intercourse bogs shall be accessible, with out clarifying if trans persons are welcome to make use of whichever aligns with their id probably the most feels redundant and obscure on objective.

“There’s nothing clear about this. As a trans artist who’ve cherished your pageant please are you able to verify transparently whether or not your pageant will adhere to the earlier assertion that mentioned the pageant will adhere to EHRC tips?

“It’s vital now to state greater than ever to state clearly and concisely that transphobic tips will NOT be enforced at your pageant in order for you your trans prospects to really feel secure attending, with the path our society has gone with transphobia being normalised more and more – sure, it actually does warrant spelling out for individuals I’m afraid.”

NME has reached out to Obtain Competition for remark.

The reference to the EHRC within the unique Obtain doc associated to the UK Supreme Courtroom ruling on April 16, wherein judges unanimously dominated that the authorized definition of a girl relies on organic intercourse below the Equality Act. The Equality Human Rights Commission explains that the ruling from the Supreme Courtroom implies that, in locations open to the general public, trans ladies shouldn’t use ladies’s amenities akin to bogs.

Many have been reluctant to uphold the anti-trans laws, and BBC has reported that many leaders throughout the UK’s cultural sector had been “unwilling” to police which bogs individuals select to make use of.

Quite a few figures within the music world have shared their assist for the trans neighborhood too, together with Scissor Sisters, Fragrance Genius, Rubbish, Rachel Chinouriri, JADE, Lambrini Ladies and Billy Bragg. In addition to that, big names like Charli XCX, Self Esteem and Wolf Alice are among the many many artists to have additionally signed an open letter of solidarity to the trans neighborhood from the UK music business.