What Do Emo Kids Think of Ian Watkins' Child Sex Charges?

Jimmy Savile, white witch covens in Cornwall, Adam Lanza and now Lostprophets' frontman Ian Watkins – it seems like people from all walks of life are being accused of either having sex with, or killing kids these days. We hear about how messed up it is all the time, but no one takes the time to ask the invisible victims, the people the Daily Mail forget, the people at the real heart of all of this: the fans. As if their lives weren’t hard enough already, now emo kids have to deal with the public evisceration of one of the only people who made them feel better about the world. I wanted to bring their unheard tragedy to light.

To do so, I headed up to Camden, assuming they’d be even more distraught than usual, but it turns out the allegations against Ian garner much the same reaction from emo kids as everything else: depressed indifference.

Kelsi, 20 (middle)

VICE: Do you like Lostprophets?
Kelsi: Yeah.

If Ian Watkins is guilty, will you still listen to Lostprophets?
Yeah, definitely.

The Watkins allegations aside, is there a culture of young girls getting with older guys in the emo/pop-punk community?
Yeah, especially with a lot of my friends. All the younger girls are into that sort of thing. Loads of my friends get with way older guys. Like, for example, my 15-year-old friend is getting with a 26-year-old. I know it's only 11 years, but still.

To be fair, 15 and 26 is a pretty big jump. Is she emo?
Yeah.

Is the guy in a band?
Yeah.

How young is too young?
For what – like, sex? It’s up to the person.

Is true love blind to such trivial matters as age?
Yeah.

Is "yeah" all you say?
Yeah.

Will you go to the trial and release a dove for each charge he is aquitted of, like Michael Jackson's fans did?
I wouldn’t do that, but I’d definitely say something. Like an online petition. Social media is the best way to get the word out.

Jake, 19 (left) and George, 20.

Hey, do you guys like Lostprophets?
Jake: Yeah.
George: Yeah.

Do you still listen to Lostprophets?
Yeah.

If Ian Watkins is guilty, will you still listen to Lostprophets?
George: Yeah, their personal life has nothing to do with the band.
Jake: Yeah, if their music is good, that’s all that matters.

Do you guys have any underage friends who have gotten with older guys?
George: Haha, no, not at all.

Then why are you nervously giggling?
It’s a long, long story.

But basically, one of your underage emo friends slept with an older guy?
Yeah, pretty much.

Will you be holding a vigil outside court for Ian? Will you be praying for him?
No. I was thinking of starting an online petition, though.

Paige, 18 (left) and Maahid, 17

Do you guys like Lostprophets?
Both: Yes, we’re big fans.

Do you still listen to Lostprophets?
Paige: I was listening to them when I read the article about the child sex and I thrust away my iPod.

Do you think that maybe he could have been set up?
Yeah, it could be an evil ex of his who’s just gone and said, “Yeah, watch him, he’s gonna go rape a one-year-old.”
Maahid: Yeah, it could be complete lies and speculation. No one knows – it's not set in concrete.

You're right. Generally speaking, do you think there is a culture of young girls getting with older guys in the emo/pop-punk community?
Paige: Yeah, my friend does that a lot. She’s 16, dresses really sluttily and went out with a 22-year-old once.
Maahid: Most of my friends from secondary school are emos and they’re all guys, so not really.

How young is too young?
Paige: Well, a one-year-old is definitely too young.
Maahid: It’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?

Is true love blind to such trivial matters as age?
Paige: I know age is nothing but a number, but if I was a mother of a 15-year-old and I looked at her going out every day dressed as a complete slut, I wouldn’t want another kid. I'm scared these girls are going to get raped.

Does the video where he plays a children's TV presenter hold a new dark significance now these allegations have come to light?
Paige: "A Town Called Hypocrisy" on Liberation, yeah. That’s a bit dodgy. Now that I think about it, you’ve made a really good point.

Will you be turning up outside court to show your support for Ian?
Nah, probably not. I might sign an online petition, though.

What is this thing with emos and online petitions?
Paige: What?

Never mind.

Jessica, 17 (left) and George, 20.

Do you guys like Lostprophets?
Yeah.

Have you heard about Ian Watkins' child sex charges?
Jessica: Yeah, quite shocked by it.
George: No, not shocked at all. He's a bit of a dick.

If Ian Watkins is guilty, will you still listen to Lostprophets?
Jessica: Yeah, it's music.
George: His personal life is his business.

Is there a wider culture of young girls getting with older guys in the emo/pop-punk community?
Jessica: Yes, definitely. I know girls who are under the age of 16 who go for guys who are older just because they’re in bands.
George: Yep, I know a few who have. They proper slept with members of a band. I won’t name the band, but they slept with a member of a band.

What kind of band was it?
George: I can tell you that they're a big abomination to music.

Hmm, cryptic. Although that could really be any emo band. 

If Ian Watkins is guilty, will you still listen to Lostprophets?
Kate, 19: Probably, because their music isn’t about being a paedophile. But I wouldn’t go see him in concert.

More widely, is there a culture of young girls getting with older guys in the emo/pop-punk community?
Maybe, but I don’t think it's because of the music, I think it's because of little girls being stupid. 

Are there a lot of stupid girls in the emo subculture?
Yeah, absolutely.

If he's found not guilty, would you like to see people releasing peace doves for each charge he's aquitted of, like Michael Jackson's fans did?
I’d hope so. It’d be nice to have a mark of respect for it, but you'd have to have a fuck-load of doves.

From left to right: Ed, 21, Sid, 19 and Adan, 20.

If Ian Watkins is guilty, will you still listen to Lostprophets?
Sid: It’s not gonna change my views on their music. People say that it might not be true – there’s no smoke without fire, but I’ll definitely still listen to their music. They're a great band.
Adan: He isn’t the only one in the band, too. The rest of the band are still in it.

That's true. Is there a culture of young girls getting with older guys in the emo/pop-punk community?
Sid: Maybe.
Ed: Most of the fans are young girls. There’s one great quote I'd like to point out, though, which is "support music, not rumours".

How young is too young?
Adan: You’ve gotta keep it legal, I think.

Yeah, that's probably best.

Charlie (left), 16 and Eva, 16.

Do you like Lostprophets?
Charlie: Um, they’re alright, yeah. I’ve seen them.
Eva: Yeah, they're, like, good.

If Ian Watkins is guilty, will you still listen to Lostprophets?
Charlie: Probably. If the music's good, I'll still listen to the music. For example, I’ve got friends who listen to Paramore, but they hate Hayley Williams, the lead singer. You don’t have to like the members to like the music.

Do you think he's been set-up?
Eva: Like, he could have been.

Zara, 21.

Do you like Lostprophets?
Zara: I like old Lostprophets, not their new stuff.

If Ian Watkins is guilty, will you still listen to their old stuff?
Yeah.

Do you think he's been set up?
I honestly don’t know. He could have been – you never know.

Is there a culture of young girls getting with older guys in the emo/pop-punk community?
Most people I know get with people their own age, but me – personally – I go for guys a bit older. My first boyfriend was five years older than me.

Does the video where he plays a children's TV presenter seem a little creepy now that these allegations have come to light?
It makes it a little bit creepy, yeah.

Follow Matt (@Matt_A_Shea) and Jake (@Jake_Photo) on Twitter.

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