Disclaimer: I will not be taking sides in this piece, nor defending the actions and allegations that will be discussed. I completely condemn domestic violence and stand with survivors. This is merely a discussion on what happened with the band, as well as the effects of cancel culture. DO NOT send hate to anyone in this piece—it will not accomplish anything.
Also, some of these allegations are just that. Do not take everything in this article as 100% factual, as some things have not been completely confirmed. I am just sharing what I have found through research.
Trigger warning: There will be mentions of domestic violence and abuse. If you or someone you know is experiencing this, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233 or text BEGIN to 88788.
On August 14, 2024, pop-punk duo Loveless was a month away from their nationwide “I Love It When It Tours Tour,” a play off the name of their then recent single, “I Love It When It Rains.” The start of the tour was supposed to coincide with the same day Loveless II, their second album, was released—That is, until, everything began to unravel.
Loveless, a.k.a Julian Comeau (vocals/production) and formerly Dylan Tirapelli-Jamail (guitar), began in 2020 with a mix of original tracks and unique rock covers of popular songs. They built their following solely on social media due to the COVID-19 pandemic and put together their first album, Loveless I, a little over a year later. They then released an EP titled End of an era in 2022 before signing with BMG/Rise Records the next year.
Comeau was initially a theater actor before transitioning to producing music and becoming the frontman of short lived alt-rock band The Colour You. He also has many vocal editing, production, and writing credits to his name for artists such as I Prevail, Ice Nine Kills, Sleeping with Sirens, Black Veil Brides, and more, as well as the soundtrack for the video game Sonic Frontiers. Tirapelli-Jamail was also in a band prior to Loveless named True American, where he created the album Ghosts: The Aftermath of a Love Story almost entirely by himself, based on living in Houston, a previous relationship, and drug abuse. He also currently plays in the bands CARTOGRAPHER, along with former Loveless touring drummer Stephen Haaker, and STAYAWAY.
In October 2023, pop-rock/hyperpop band Waterparks announced they were going on their “Sneaking Out of Heaven Tour” in February-April 2024 and bringing Loveless with them. In between dates, Loveless also had their own mini tour with stops in Kansas City, Missouri; Cincinnati, Ohio; Albany, New York; San Diego, California; and Fresno, California.
Soon after in June, the band revealed Loveless II and the accompanying tour, where they would be joined by Beauty School Dropout and Julia Wolf. However, the morning of August 14, Wolf released a statement on social media that read, “Hey everybody, due to recent information that has been brought to my attention, I will no longer be joining Loveless on their upcoming fall tour.” Confusion ensued, as many fans didn’t know what this “recent information” was. Not long after, Beauty School Dropout would do the same as Wolf, leaving fans even more confused.
Eventually, users flocked to the comment section of Loveless’s most recent post from the beginning of August, which pointed to a thread on X. Two days earlier, a user by the name of Kendall wrote,
tw: domestic violence
In 2018, Julian Comeau from Loveless was charged with domestic battery abuse. it was later dropped down to simple battery, which he was convicted of.
I have spoken with the victim and she has trusted me to share some of the details from this case.
Court documents were posted as well, providing more insight on the case. There was also a statement posted that was allegedly written by Comeau’s former partner who filed the charges against him, detailing their side of the story. These revelations came in the wake of a supposed feud just a few days earlier on August 6, between Comeau and Waterparks frontman Awsten Knight, as well as some “Parxies,” the name for the band’s fanbase.
Reportedly, Knight and Comeau did not get along on the “Sneaking Out Of Heaven Tour” and there were accusations on X from Knight's private X account (@PARXAFTERDARK2) that Comeau was rude to crew members and was Snapchatting younger fans during it (which Comeau denied). Knight was referring to when Comeau was adding almost everyone who requested to follow him on Snapchat in March 2024, which got out of hand and led to some ethical lines being crossed. He received a lot of hate for this and also for leaked direct messages and since-deleted comments about Waterparks’ streaming numbers. Additionally, Comeau was the target of rude posts from Knight and many Parxies during the tour (before these accusations even came to light), because they didn’t like him or the way he performed.
Below are some screenshots of tweets relating to the allegations and feud. Please note that these screenshots may not be in chronological order as the original tweets are private or have since been deleted, leaving them without a timestamp.
The fallout from these revelations and allegations were swift, yet quiet. While nothing formal was said by the band or Comeau, the tour and album were cancelled. Their PR firm, management, and label cut ties with the band and it appeared that so did Tirapelli-Jamail and also Haaker. (Come to find out from a reply to a comment on an Instagram post from April 7, 2025, Comeau confirmed that Tirapelli-Jamail actually left the band sometime in June or July, before many of the events unfolded publicly. Haaker also said something similar on his TikTok account back in August.) Their merch site was taken down and posts on their Instagram prior to the announcement of the single “Heart-Shaped Soul” and ones that promoted the album and tour were removed. Eventually, all profile pictures and photos on streaming services for the band were replaced with ones of only Comeau, instead of him and Tirapelli-Jamail.
@groovejuggernaut A word to fans and supporters #loveless #lovelessdrummer #cartographerdrummer #groovejuggernaut #gruvartist #gruvgear @Gruv Gear ♬ original sound - Stephen Haaker
Soon, weeks passed without any clarification. Then months. Comeau disappeared from the public eye and only made sporadic appearances on other people’s Instagram stories. It’s more than likely that even if Comeau or Tirapelli-Jamail wanted to say something, they were probably advised against it legally. This was confirmed by Tirapelli-Jamail on his X account, @djswampdaddy.
In November 2024, Comeau was tagged in a post on Instagram which showed him sitting in a diner with three other people and a caption reading “Sober Brunch Club.” Comeau had noticeably shaved his mustache and looked leaner than before. He replied to the post saying, “good hangs today buddy!!! thank you for a great day, honored to be part of the sober club with you. 🙌❤️”
Since then, Comeau has slowly started to return to social media with posts and stories on his Instagram, while Tirapelli-Jamail has been busy with CARTOGRAPHER. On March 25, 2025, the first post since August appeared on the official Loveless Instagram. It was a collaboration post between Comeau's personal account and Tim Ryan, a keynote speaker and recovery advocate. In the post, Comeau talked with Ryan about how he became sober and had been sober for seven months at that point, presumably due to everything that had happened. He also shared that he had lost 35 pounds during this time through exercise and healthy eating.
In the comment section of that post, many users asked about the future of Loveless and what had happened to the album. One commenter asked if the album would still be released, to which Comeau replied, “tbh even if i could put out that record, im not sure i’d want to. i think whatever is next for me will be very different. a new chapter of music for a new chapter in my life. plus i was never a big fan of the roman numeral album names.” Comeau has also recently begun to share new music on the Loveless page again, including a song about how he used to use alcohol to cope with anxiety and depression. In the snippet, he sings, “You win, you lose, you sing the blues // There’s no point in buying concrete shoes, I refuse // And I always wanna die sometimes.” On Easter Sunday, Comeau teased on his Instagram story that a new song would be coming, later hinting that it would be released on May 16 and titled "Step Back." As of April 2025, Loveless was listed under music group Big Noise's artist section on their website.
In situations such as this, it prompts the question: If someone has done something deemed bad or wrong in their past (before they were famous), should they be “allowed” to pursue a career in the spotlight?
As one can expect, fans were torn when everything came out. Some were understandably upset as domestic violence is a serious and unfortunately common offense, with 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the U.S. experiencing it at some point in their lives, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Others said that while it was serious, it shouldn’t interfere with Comeau's music career six years later. They argued that he had already been arrested and did time for his actions. However, both sides raised concerns about how there were no formal statements issued (besides from their former PR firm, management team, and label dropping them) and that everything was seemingly brushed under the rug. As mentioned before, there were legal implications likely preventing the band from speaking out.
When asked for their opinion on this situation, the Music Scene Media team had a lot to say. It was a civil and insightful conversation, with many team members bringing up valid points. Some said that silence is telling but they believe that if the person takes accountability for what they did and works on improving themselves (genuinely, not just for the sake of their career), it will help make a better case for them. Pretty much everyone agreed that each situation is not “black and white,” especially since the only people who know the full story are the ones who experienced it first hand. One member said, “In my eyes, it’s very person-to-person dependent and also dependent on the severity and nature of the offense. Like [another member] said, predatory behavior should be an automatic blacklist 100%.”
Regardless of the person or circumstances, nothing will be solved by attacking the people involved, whether on social media or in person. People should own up to their mistakes and face the consequences, but not at the expense of their physical or mental health.
Once again, If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or abuse, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233 or text BEGIN to 88788.
