Paramore Announced They Will No Longer Be Performing ‘Misery Business’ And People Are Not Happy

If you were a 2000’s emo kid, there’s a pretty solid chance you enjoyed listening to Paramore. The band, with frontwoman Hayley Williams, brought us some of our favorite teenage angst songs–including “Misery Business” from their album Riot!
The song is easily one of their biggest singles and brings us all back to a time of adolescence. However, if you were planning to see Paramore in concert and jam out to it–you’ll be sad to learn that the band has made a decision to no longer perform “Misery Business” at live shows any longer.

At their September 7th show in Nashville, Williams told her fans that it would be the last show in which they sing the song live.

Why are they no longer performing the song, you ask–simple: fans and followers have grown to see the song as “anti-feminist.” Specifically, one line in the song:

Once a whore, you’re nothing more/ I’m sorry, that will never change.

Over the years, as there has been some backlash over the lyrics, Williams issued a statement on Tumblr explaining that she was a young 17-years-old when she had originally written the lyrics and since then, has grown to see her mistake.

Tumblr

She has also said in interviews:

“The problem with the lyrics is not that I had an issue with someone I went to school with. That’s just high school and friendships and breakups. It’s the way I tried to call her out using words that didn’t belong in the conversation. It’s the fact that the story was setup inside the context of a competition that didn’t exist over some fantasy romance.”

While it’s sincerely relatable for most teens, Williams does not want to perpetuate this language and view of women any longer. While she cannot erase the song, she can stop playing it live–which is what she’s decided to do. Regardless of her choice, fans were deeply upset to hear that they would stop playing one of their favorite songs.