The current court hearings against Lostprophets' former frontman Ian Watkins has been disgustingly abhorrent to say the least (read up on it here and here if you have the stomach for some disgustingly graphic content). Now Watkins' former bandmates and even his own stepfather are making public comment on what a piece of garbage human being he is.
First up we have John Davies speaking with The Daily Mail about his stepson. Davies is a church minister who married Watkins' mother when Watkins' was eight-years old and has since been divorced from her. It's also worth noting that Watkins' mother, Elaine Davies, had undergone a kidney transplant and was doing well but has recently fallen seriously ill after learning about her son's transgressions. Nice job, Watkins. Anyway, Mr. Davies told the site:
“This is so hard. It’s overwhelming. It has affected every aspect of our lives. It’s the first thing a parent asks themselves – where did we go wrong? What happened?
Ian was loved, cherished, encouraged and nurtured. We did our best. He was a normal happy young lad who grew up in the Valleys in a loving family which had no more problems than anybody else has.
I don’t know how this will turn out. I don’t know whether he will be remembered for years to come as somebody infamous and evil – like a sort of Jimmy Savile character. I hope not.
I hope something will happen to change that perception of people. Time will tell. We’re going to do our best to support him and hope for the best, that’s all we can do.”
His bandmaters had equally kind things to say:
“Earlier this week, we learned that the allegations of child sexual abuse against Ian were true, and that he would not be contesting them in court. Until then, we found them extremely difficult to believe and had hoped it was all a mistake. Sadly, the true extent of his appalling behaviour is now impossible to deny.
Many of you understandably want to know if we knew what Ian was doing. To be clear: We did not. We knew that Ian was a difficult character. Our personal relationships with him had deteriorated in recent years to a point that working together was a constant, miserable challenge. But despite his battles with drugs, his egotistic behaviour, and the resulting fractures and frustrations within our band, we never imagined him capable of behaviour of the type he has now admitted.
We are heartbroken, angry, and disgusted at what has been revealed. This is something that will haunt us for the rest of our lives. Being in a band has always been a labour of love and a platform to inspire people, not to take advantage of them. It’s still hard to believe this is happening and that someone we were once so close to has destroyed so many lives, lying every step of the way.
Our hearts go out to Ian‘s family, the fans and friends he betrayed, and most importantly, the victims of his crimes and others like them. We hope for justice, but also that Ian will truly take responsibility for what he’s done. We would urge any other victims to contact the authorities.
Jamie, Lee, Luke, Mike and Stu“
Meanwhile, HMV record stores have vowed to take all Lostprophets CDs off shelves, which will make you go HMV still exists? Yes, it does!
Additionally, a new report has surfaced showing Watkins visiting a children's hospital at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff as part of his role as ’ambassador for young people.' What makes this even more disturbing is based on the timeline of events, Watkins had already sexually molested a baby. Lovely~! Here are some photos:
Watkins will get sentencing on December 18th.
[via The PRP]
