Hours before the band Crystal Castles was scheduled to perform Tuesday night at the Observatory in Santa Ana, the show was abruptly canceled.

The action was taken on the same day that the band’s original singer, Margaret Osborn (who performs as Alice Glass), posted an open letter on her website accusing co-founder Claudio Palmieri (who performs as Ethan Kath) of inflicting “almost a decade of abuse, manipulation and psychological control” over her.

“My client responds with the following quote,” Palmieri’s lawyer, Michael Weinsten, said to The Times in an email, which reads, in part, “ ‘I am outraged and hurt by the recent statements made by Alice about me and our prior relationship. Her story is pure fiction and I am consulting my lawyers as to my legal options. Fortunately, there are many witnesses who can and will confirm that I was never abusive to Alice.’ ”

The Observatory did not respond to a request for comment on its reasons for the show’s cancellation. Osborn’s representatives confirmed that she wrote the statement released Tuesday on her website but said that she would not comment further on the allegations at this time.


Osborn left Crystal Castles in 2014, at the time citing “a multitude of reasons both professional and personal” on her Facebook page. In 2015, Palmieri released new Crystal Castles tracks and has been touring with Edith Frances performing vocals.

That same year, Osborn released her own solo track, “Stillbirth,” and said she would donate any money received to organizations that support survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and incest. In August, Osborn released a solo EP titled “Alice Glass.”

“The momentum that’s been created recently by the many courageous women who have opened up about their own stories has inspired me to finally be more direct, at whatever cost,” Glass said in her statement. “This is for my own recovery, for the other women who have been, are currently, or may be in a similar situation … for those in abusive relationships who are looking to stand up and speak out.”

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