Joe Hawley Controversy Explained

Musicians and controversies go hand-in-hand. From Lizzo being accused of sexual harassment to Harry Styles getting targeted by Billy Porter for his Vogue cover, the instances are endless.

But the singers above are some of the biggest names. Comparatively smaller musicians have also been accused of sinister things.

Tally Hall, an American rock band, was formed in December of 2002, and since then, they have slowly gained fans with their whimsical lyrics and upbeat music. One of the most popular members of the band is Joe Hawley, and now he has been accused of heinous things, screenshots included and all. So, what’s going on?

Tally Hall band member Joe Hawley was accused of abusing his power over a teenager, along with other allegations of transphobia and sexualization of a minor. In a Google doc, Twitter user @amptoohigh provided screenshots that allegedly corroborate her and her friend Eden’s lived experience interacting with the musician. The fanbase is split on it; many think the writer is fabricating it all for attention.

Joe Hawley Controversy Explained

Recently, the Tally Hall subreddit has been buzzing about posts regarding Joe Hawley. Some desperately try to defend him, while others are hell-bent on mudslinging. But many people don’t know what’s the controversy.

Recently, Twitter user @amptoohigh brought some startling allegations against the musician that rattled the entire Tally Hall fandom. Rumors and allegations about Joe Hawley’s behavior with teens, girls, and more have been swirling around since 2020.

But @amptoohigh jotted her and a fellow friend- Eden’s, experiences with Joe Hawley in a Google doc complete with screenshots. The entire doc is an interesting read, and it gives the reader an insight into the writer’s view of what went down. The document starts with:

“My acquaintanceship with Joe Hawley began in January 2021 and ceased, on my terms, on August 8th, 2023. Throughout this 2.5-year period, I have experienced Joe’s hateful mood swings, transphobia, sexualization, and abuse of power.”

The writer explained that their correspondence began when she was a junior in High School and 16 years of age. She revealed that Joe knew this fact about her. Then she wrote:

“Our correspondence became frequent in January of 2021, originally starting out pleasant but quickly turning toxic. He would frequently take his anger, frustration, and paranoia out on me but then treat me with enough kindness that would make me crave our conversations even more due to the small amount of joy I got from them.”

In the summary of the doc, she elaborated further and wrote:

“As soon as I got hooked, he began to abuse this position of power to belittle, insult, and attack me over absolutely nothing while also using me as a way to vent out decades’ worth of dirty laundry about his tumultuous experience with exes, family, and, of course, the other members of Tally Hall.”

The screenshots attached to the Google doc and the explanations paint a grim picture of Joe Hawley. However, the writers allege that their intention isn’t to engage in any cancel culture. In fact, they explicitly say that this isn’t a hit piece. All they wanted to do was share their story and encourage “vulnerable fans to not interact with him.”

These allegations have split the Tally Hall and Joe Hawley fandom apart. To make matters worse, there are allegations of transphobia against him as well. As such, fans don’t know what to make of all of this.

Some think that at least the transphobia, which happened when a fan asked him about his pronouns, and he got angry and said many poorly worded things, stemmed from genuine ignorance and not malice.

Later, he and the fan discussed it more, and Joe was educated about how homophobia and transphobia are wrong. So, when he was asked about his pronouns a second time, he said he wanted to keep that private.

Regarding the doc, many believe there’s no way to corroborate the information presented in it. As such, it could all be hearsay and doctored to make the musician look bad. On the Tally Hall subreddit, one poster added:

“That individual who wrote the doc shipped the band members irl and made smut about them. Idk, it seems to me that they just wanted to add more problematic stuff to Joe’s ignorant comments to make him seem more irredeemable, which is a pretty scummy thing to do, imo.”

Another fan commented:

“I think most of the accusations were false, and the ‘evidence’ that the authors provided was either taken out of context, vague, or entirely fake. Also worth mentioning is that the authors seem to be biased, which brings up the question: ‘Is this really a trustworthy source?'”

What are your thoughts about the allegations brought about against Joe Hawley?

Do you think the accusations are true? Or are they fabricated and taken out of context to make the musician look bad?

Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Joe Hawley accusations Google doc