Say Anything’s Max Bemis Postpones Shows Amid Allegations of Messaging Underage Fans
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Say Anything frontman Max Bemis has postponed a run of acoustic shows following allegations that he sent inappropriate messages to underage fans, with the band citing his need to prioritise his "mental health and personal well-being." The controversy has now spilled over into music business fallout, with Wavves' Nathan Williams publicly disowning Cherry Soda, the pair's collaborative album due out on 18 September, and effectively distancing himself and his band from Bemis entirely.
In messages shared via Wavves' Patreon and Instagram, Williams called Bemis "awful" on a professional level, said he spent 11 months on the record to Bemis's four days, and claimed he wrote the majority of the material himself. He raised the possibility of a solo re-recording, noting Bemis allegedly "barely wrote anything," though he acknowledged the complication that 10,000 copies have already been pressed; the album remains available for pre-order via Rough Trade. The allegations first emerged last week via screenshots posted to the Say Anything subreddit showing alleged flirtatious exchanges with two teenage fans, and Pitchfork has sought comment from Wavves' representatives.
- Wavves' Nathan Williams disowns Cherry Soda album over Bemis allegations
- Williams claims he wrote most of the record himself
- 10,000 copies already pressed; album still up for pre-order
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Say Anything are a US rock band fronted by Max Bemis, who formed the group in the early 2000s and built a devoted following in the emo and post-hardcore scene. Bemis has also worked on side projects, including a planned collaborative album with Nathan Williams, who fronts the band Wavves and has his own established fanbase in indie and lo-fi rock circles.
The current situation stems from claims, first raised online via screenshots, that Bemis exchanged inappropriate messages with fans reported to be teenagers. Such allegations matter because they touch on the power imbalance between musicians and young fans, and on how bands and labels respond when a prominent member is accused of misconduct towards minors.
The episode also has a business dimension, since Bemis and Williams had a joint record due for release this month, meaning any personal fallout between the two carries knock-on effects for a project involving other people's work, a record label, and fans who may have already pre-ordered the music.
Full account
Max Bemis, frontman of the band Say Anything, has postponed a run of upcoming acoustic shows after being accused of sending inappropriate messages to fans who were under the age of consent. The allegations first surfaced last week when screenshots purporting to show flirtatious exchanges between Bemis and two teenage fans were posted to the Say Anything subreddit. On 29 August, the band said on Instagram that Bemis would be stepping back from his solo commitments, attributing the move to his need to "prioritise his mental health and personal well-being" without directly acknowledging the claims against him.
The most detailed account came from a young woman who said she was 17 when Bemis, now in his forties, began following her main and secondary Instagram accounts in March before later sharing his phone number with her. She alleged he was aware both of her age and of her past as a trafficking survivor, yet their exchanges nonetheless turned to sexual topics. She argued that the age gap alone made the contact inappropriate, regardless of its content. A second person, said to be 19, subsequently posted further screenshots in which Bemis allegedly spoke about being single and about being drawn to younger people after she raised the disparity in their ages.
The controversy has thrown into doubt Cherry Soda, a ten-track record Bemis had made with Wavves' Nathan Williams, originally due out on 18 September. Williams moved quickly to distance himself, telling fans on Instagram that he no longer wanted any association with Bemis or his band, and noting the imbalance in their contributions — he said he had worked on the project for eleven months against Bemis's four days. In messages to supporters on Patreon, he went further, calling Bemis's conduct on the project unprofessional, claiming he had written most of the music himself, and floating the idea of reworking the material into a solo release, since Bemis had allegedly contributed little to the songwriting. He acknowledged, however, that the plan was complicated by roughly 10,000 vinyl copies already having been manufactured, a predicament he suggested could leave him substantially out of pocket.
Say Anything and Wavves had unveiled the collaboration in July, releasing the track "Deathx1k" as a preview, with Bemis describing at the time how the pair had written around each other's experiences despite their differing personalities. Say Anything, which reunited in 2022 and later toured its breakthrough record …Is a Real Boy for its twentieth anniversary, has not addressed the specific allegations publicly, and Bemis himself has yet to comment. Coverage of the story has varied in emphasis: Pitchfork focused on Bemis's own postponed shows and noted the album remained available to pre-order even as its future looked uncertain, while NME leaned more heavily into the substance of the allegations — including the claim about the accuser's trafficking history — and reported Williams's estimate that scrapping the record could cost him around $200,000, details not covered in the other account.
Where outlets differ
Pitchfork frames the story primarily around Bemis's postponed shows and treats the album's fate as merely 'uncertain', while NME reports more definitively that Wavves have 'scrapped' Cherry Soda.
NME includes far more detail on the substance of the allegations, including the 17-year-old's account of Bemis's knowledge of her trafficking history and direct quotes from her post; Pitchfork summarises the allegations only briefly as 'flirtatious messages'.
NME cites a specific financial estimate from Williams (around $200,000 potentially lost) and names the label (I Surrender Records); Pitchfork does not mention either.
Pitchfork notes that Cherry Soda remained available for pre-order via Rough Trade at the time of writing; NME does not address ongoing availability.
NME provides additional band background (Say Anything's 2022 reunion and 2024 anniversary tour) not present in Pitchfork's report.
Pitchfork attributes the Patreon comments to its own review of the chat, while NME attributes similar Patreon material to reporting by Paste.
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