Rockers Brand New put shows on hold after sex-abuse claims

A woman said that lead singer Jesse Lacey (third from left) sought naked pictures of her when she was 15. PHOTO: BRAND NEW/INSTAGRAM

NEW YORK (AFP) - Alternative rockers Brand New on Monday halted concerts following outrage over a woman's account that lead singer Jesse Lacey sought naked pictures of her when she was 15.

Lacey, 39, apologised and acknowledged he had "hurt people, mistreated them, lied and cheated" due to a sex addiction - but said he has changed after starting his own family.

Brand New - whose latest album, Science Fiction, hit number one in the US - announced it was postponing shows planned in Britain and Ireland.

The band, from New York's Long Island, recently completed a US tour.

Amid public attention towards sexual abuse following accusations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, the band Martha, which had been scheduled as Brand New's opening act, pulled out of upcoming shows, as did Brand New's touring guitarist Kevin Devine.

A woman named Nicole Garey said over the weekend that Lacey first approached her in 2002 when she was 15 and he was 24 after he spotted her taking pictures at a concert.

She wrote on Facebook that the two exchanged messages.

He asked her for nude pictures and pressured her to masturbate for him over Skype.

"It (messed) me up to the point that I still have nightmares and wake up in a sweat. I still break down and have panic attacks when people play Brand New in a bar," she wrote.

She separately told rock magazine Alternative Press that although she was initially flattered by the attention from a rock musician, she found him "manipulative" and had to seek therapy.

Lacey sought forgiveness, saying he abused his status as a rock singer.

"I do not stand in defence of myself nor do I forgive myself," he wrote in a statement.

"I was selfish, narcissistic and insensitive in my past, and there are a number of people who have had to shoulder the burden of my failures," he added.

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