On March 7th, one of our team's journalists went to the Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard at Allianz Park in São Paulo for work. The following day, as usual, our contributor wrote her article and published it on the Wikimetal .
In the article and on her personal social media, the journalist praises both shows extensively and criticizes the sexist behavior of the band Mötley Crüe, a characteristic present in the group's shows and lyrics since the 1980s.
The simple opinion generated an excessive, uncontrolled, and absurd reaction from some people, both on the journalist's personal channels and on the portal's social media. Some fans of the band, resentful of the text, began a series of extremely aggressive, vulgar, rude, and cowardly attacks on our employee.
We, as founders of the Wikimetal portal, publicly express our absolute repudiation of any sexist, misogynistic, and aggressive attack on a professional who was performing her duties honestly and competently.
Brazil is one of the most violent countries in the world in relation to journalists and women. The structural sexism present in our society leads to women being murdered and assaulted daily in our country. Prejudiced comments and threats are not a joke; this type of criminal conduct is not part of the repertoire of most rock and metal fans. This type of cowardly attack is not a joke, it is not (and never has been) part of the behavior of the vast majority of Wikimetal's audience.
The rock community, of which we have been a part for over 40 years, is peaceful and tolerant, and anyone who thinks differently is in the wrong place and listening to the wrong kind of music. We will not accept this kind of cowardly attack on anyone, especially a woman, a colleague, a professional on our team.
To conclude this note (and this matter), you are not obligated to like, agree with, or share the same opinion as the website or the journalist, but you are obligated to respect people, and especially women, regardless of their opinion about your favorite band. The cowardly behavior of those attacking our colleague will not be tolerated.
Our newsroom is comprised mostly of young journalists and women, which is a source of great pride for us. We have a healthy environment, certified by Great Place To Work, and one of extreme respect and support among all team members. We will continue posting reviews, opinion pieces, and covering events as usual, and we will not remain silent in situations of injustice and abuse, especially towards members of our team.
Disagreements, arguments, and discussions have always been encouraged throughout Wikimetal's more than 12-year history, whether on our website, podcast, or social media. Our editorial team loves debating ideas and concepts, and often we don't even agree amongst ourselves.
And we always learn from these disagreements, listening to different points of view. There's absolutely no problem in having differing opinions, especially on a topic as passionate to us as rock and heavy metal. However, cowardly attacks filled with hatred will not be tolerated and will be reported to the respective platforms and authorities so that appropriate measures can be taken.
Signed: Nando Machado and Daniel Dystyler , founders of Wikimetal
