Orri Páll Dýrason Resigns from Sigur Ros Following Sexual Assault Allegations

Orri Páll Dýrason, the drummer for Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Ros, has resigned from the band following an accusation of sexual assault.

Sigur Ros announced Dýrason’s resignation on their Facebook page Monday, writing:

In the wake of the extremely serious and personal allegations made against him in recent days we have today accepted the resignation of our bandmate Orri Páll Dýrason to allow him to deal with this privately. Jónsi & Georg

Dýrason explained the reasoning behind his resignation in a Facebook post of his own, in which he stopped short of explicitly denying the allegations:

I begin with thanking my friends and relatives for the support you have shown. It is good for me feel for your trust, despite the serious public allegations against me.

This matter has undeniably taken its toll on me for the past few days. Justifiably, some will say, and I do not intend to argue with those people. However, I sincerely ask the same people to steer their anger into the right path and abstain from dragging my family, and especially my wife, into this matter. At the same time, I ask people to stay calm and not to be divided into two battling armies, these are not court proceedings, just Meagan’s words against mine, on the internet. Loud and provocative words are in nobody’s favour—neither to me or her.

In light of the scale of this matter, I have decided to leave Sigur Rós. That is a difficult decision for me, but I cannot have these serious allegations influence the band and the important and beautiful work that has been done there for the last years. A job that is so dear to me.

I will do anything in my power to get myself out of this nightmare, but out of respect for those actually suffering from sexual violence, I will not take that fight public.

Love
Orri

The allegations against Dýrason came to light last week in an Instagram post made by L.A.-based artist Meagan Boyd. Boyd accused Dýrason of assaulting her in 2013, and said that she felt compelled to come forward following the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford.

Boyd went on to post an email she allegedly received from Dýrason following her post, in which he claimed that he remembers the night they spent together differently, writing that Boyd offered to drive him home from the club, and that they had a “nice night of drinking and drawing” at his flat.

The text of Boyd’s latest (Sept. 28) Instagram post—which is no longer viewable via embed, as her account has since been set to private—can be found below.

I made a post following up with some information about my abuser/rapist getting in touch with me, gaslighting, and trying to silence me as well as denying what he did to me in 2013 in which he raped me 2 times over the course of a night spent with him during his stay in Los Angeles recording an album. I posted screen shots of his correspondence with me via email and they were flagged by someone and removed by @instagram for not following community standards. I did not remove them myself. I understand if they may have violated Instagrams standards of privacy so I will not repost on here but they have been sent to a major broadcasting network in Iceland. I will not back down or be silenced or gaslighted. I know what happened and I will not forget. This has not been easy for me or my family but it is my duty to expose him as a sexual predator who should not be in a woman’s safe place. Today is the first time I truly wanted to cry as I’ve pushed down and repressed my trauma for years. His name is Orri Páll Dýrason and he is in a band called @sigurros I’m looking to speak with a lawyer as well- this story is beginning to build momentum and hype and some legal advice would be appreciated.