“… We were unaware of The Orwells’ actions during the short time we toured with them, but learned about several incidents through private discussions within the Chicago community in recent years. We never felt it was our place to make public these stories that were not ours to tell. It is our understanding that sharing these memories forces survivors to relive the trauma, and can undo the personal work they’ve had to undertake to move forward in their lives. We are not perfect and do not pretend to be. What these women have shown us and the rest of the community is that condemning abusers and outing victims are not mutually exclusive. Thank you to everyone who is sharing their story; let’s continue to keep the focus on the women who have done the real work here. Focus on the stories the victims share and how to better our community, not the denial of it all or the other noise.”