By now, if you’ve been anywhere near the hardcore and punk corners of the internet, you’ve probably heard: GEL is done. Not in a “taking a break” kind of way, but in a scorched-earth, “we can’t keep this going after what happened” kind of way.

For those of us who came up watching GEL rise from New Jersey basement shows to stages all over the world, this hits hard. They weren’t just another band — they were the future of hardcore. Fast, loud, furious, with a deeply inclusive ethos that made them feel like they were ours. That made it feel even more gut-wrenching when they dropped a statement announcing the breakup, citing “heinous acts” by their former guitarist, Anthony Webster.

The statement, first shared on Instagram and later covered in BrooklynVegan, lays it all out. Webster wasn’t just a bandmate — he was a manipulator, a liar, and, frankly, an abuser. The band alleges he stole tens of thousands of dollars, mostly to spend on OnlyFans, and that he violated their safety and trust in horrifying, unforgivable ways.

Among the most disturbing accusations: he leaked nude photographs of band members without their consent, posting them on Reddit. That’s not just betrayal — that’s abuse. It’s exploitation. It’s a violent, public violation of people who once trusted him with their lives on tour, in vans, on stage, in tiny clubs and DIY venues across the country.

This wasn’t band drama. This was abuse.

In their statement, the band talks about how it felt like being in an abusive relationship. And that’s not hyperbole. What they describe — the gaslighting, the financial control, the humiliation, the isolation — are all textbook tactics of abusers. It’s easy to think “well, why didn’t they just kick him out sooner?” But abuse, especially when it’s psychological and happening inside something you love — like your band — isn’t easy to see when you’re in it.This kind of thing doesn’t just happen in romantic relationships. The term battered partner syndrome often comes up in those contexts, but it applies here too. People stay in abusive situations because they’ve been made to feel like they have to. Like leaving would destroy everything. Like speaking up would make things worse. And in a DIY band — where everything from gas money to mental health is held together with duct tape and community goodwill — the stakes are high and the pressure to “keep it together” is real.The fact that GEL finally said “enough” — even at the cost of the band — takes guts. A lot of people wouldn’t have done that. They would’ve kept going, swept it under the rug, replaced the guy, and never spoken publicly about what went down. GEL didn’t do that. They aired the truth. They named the harm. And then they burned the whole thing down rather than let it become something rotten.And if there’s a lesson here for the rest of the scene, it’s this: no band is worth your health. No community is worth your silence. No career is worth protecting an abuser. Whether it’s your partner, your bandmate, your boss, or your supposed “friend,” you don’t owe them your loyalty if they’re causing you harm.We should be creating spaces where people can speak up. Where this kind of thing doesn’t get pushed aside because “they’re good at guitar” or “they booked the tour.” DIY is supposed to mean do it yourself — but it should also mean take care of each other. That means believing people when they say they’ve been hurt. That means asking questions even when it’s uncomfortable. That means burning it all down if that’s what it takes to keep people safe.

GEL’s gone, but the people who were GEL are still here. They’re still part of this community. They deserve support, space to heal, and respect for having the courage to call this what it was.

So let’s not just mourn the loss of a great band. Let’s also use this moment to build something better — safer, more honest, and way more punk than letting abusers stick around because they can play a riff.