GEL break up, accuse former guitarist of “heinous acts”

New Jersey hardcore group GEL have broken up, as they announced in a social media post. In that post, they also accuse former guitarist Anthony Webster of “heinous acts,” which ultimately led to their break-up.

The post alleges that Webster stole tens of thousands of dollars from other members of the band, which he spent on “a truly unbelievable number of OnlyFans purchases and mysterious CashApp transactions.” They also said he posted naked photos of members of the band on Reddit, and put them in “physically dangerous situations numerous times.”

“Now, I’m sure a lot of people are thinking, well why didn’t you just stop dealing with it?” the post reads in part. “Why didn’t you just leave? If you’ve ever been in abusive relationship, emotionally and/or physically, you’ll probably understand this better. It’s like that, but with your life’s work and passion at the forefront as well. It’s not so easy to just give something up that you care so much about, especially with pressures from outside organizations, people, etc that are all counting on you in some way. We wish that this could have all been easier, and we wish that it didn’t have to end this way — we’re fighters though, and we saw it through to the very end, until it simply couldn’t go on anymore. And we’re proud of that.”

GEL had been playing without Webster since last year, but hadn’t made any public announcement about it until this week. The group’s upcoming shows have all been canceled, and their show last night in Tokyo will likely be their last.

GEL’s last album was 2023’s Only Constant.