Dustie Waring’s Suing the Rest of Between The Buried And Me
Guitarist Dustie Waring hasn’t been involved in the latest run of Between The Buried And Me tour dates and he’s now suing his bandmates over his forced absence and “unlawfully preventing” him from playing live.
You may recall that Waring stepped away from live shows last year due to sexual assault allegations, which he firmly denied. At the time, the guitarist was accused of raping and impregnating a fan a few years ago. According to the anonymous woman who posted a lengthy retelling of what she allegedly remembered happening, she said she was sharing her experience a few years after the fact because she was “too scared to come forward and speak my truth” at the time.
By her own admission, she had been hanging out with some friends and drinking pretty heavily the day she’d met Waring at a bar near a local venue. After introducing herself to the guitarist, she alleged that he kept buying her shots and kissing her at the bar despite her obvious inebriation. She then claims remembering waking up at home with bruises on her hips and wrists, in addition to feeling some vaginal pain.
According to text conversations between the two, Waring allegedly confirmed all of the details about what happened, including a sexual encounter in the bar’s bathroom. Weeks later, she learned she was pregnant and decided to terminate it.
Waring was intentionally kept off the tour that started up shortly after the allegations were made public, with guitarist Tristan Auman taking his place. He would eventually rejoin the band on stage at Furnace Fest 2023, but hasn’t been with the band since they started their Colors and Colors II tours.
As a result of his forced absence from the band, Waring published a letter from his lawyer yesterday airing his grievances with the band, with his lawyer Timothy C. Parlatore stating that Between The Buried And Me was illegally barring Waring from participating in the band’s tours.
The letter alleges that the band stated “unsatisfactory performance” and injury, among other reasons, for wanting to keep Waring off their live roster, but Parlatore alleges that those were just falsehoods used so the rest of the band could get a bigger cut of the proceeds generated by the tour.
“If your clients [Between The Buried And Me] are unwilling to either engage in a reasonable, fact-based, settlement negotiation, Mr. Waring has no choice but to file a lawsuit to ensure that his rights are protected. Given the way the discussions have proceeded thusfar, I would strongly advise your client to retain additional counsel with litigation experience to make the discussions more fruitful.
“However, I need to hear from you by next Friday, April 5, 2024. Additionally, Tommy Rogers and Paul Waggoner may be named as individual defendants due to their personal conduct, so they may want to hire individual counsel as well. If we are unable to reach a resolution, then I will begin preparing to file in the U.S. District Court.”
Aside from posting the letter, Waring shared a relatively short comment on the matter, stating that he’s had a rough go of things ever since the allegations came out.
“It’s been a tough year for me and everyone who cares for me, but many of you have been amazing and so supportive, it’s moved me beyond anything I could ever imagine. With that said, It’s also been a really eye opening experience, one that has changed me and the course of my life. To have to go through it without the support of some of my brothers was not only hard but quite the shock. You all deserve answers, I’m sorry you didn’t get them before now. I won’t be commenting on this, all inquiries can be sent to my lawyer”
