According to a male fan on X, he was taken to a separate room to be "interrogated and searched" and further explained that staff questioned his favourite songs. Like many others, he took to social media to share his experience of mistreatment, which has since sparked great attention online as well as reports from major and minor news outlets. Laura Snapes, writer for The Guardian, criticised the "overzealous security" but also pointed out that ‘‘if every time women or minority fans were mistreated at concerts made the headlines, every publication would need dedicated beat reporters”.
The Engine Shed released a statement the next day explaining the results of an initial investigation. This revealed that venue management made an "ad-hoc change" to company policies after security staff were reportedly informed of previous incidents at TLDP gigs, involving men acting inappropriately towards the (largely female) fanbase.
The band, who were "appalled and disappointed", released a statement via their Instagram story as they attempted to assure fans that they were not aware of these additional security checks. They reiterated that their gigs were a safe space for anyone to join, apologising directly to those who were made to feel "uncomfortable and disrespected".
It is disappointing that these men were discriminated in this way. However, the fact that the security team had to consider and act in such a way as a level of precaution reveals a bigger issue of the dangers that minority groups face when attending music events. Contributions to this incident have reignited the wider debate on the importance of safety at music events: how we can possibly navigate this in the future to avoid discrimination whilst also protecting minority groups?
