Pete’s History of Sexism, Predatory/Manipulative Behavior, Questionable Associations, and Performativity

✿ Hardline ✿
(based on research by souryogurt64)
During FOB’s early days, they were associated with Sean Muttaqi and Ryan Downey, two influential members of a movement called Hardline. Hardline was anti-abortion, anti-homosexuality, anti-birth control, anti-feminist, pro-rape apologism, and used nazi imagery (x).

Sean published zines (under the same title as the band he was in with Andy) discussing how gays should be beaten and killed. Sean’s website justified rape if a woman wasn’t dressed modestly (x). He reportedly still believes abortion is wrong (x). Ryan Downey was his friend and wrote articles and zines advocating for Hardline’s beliefs.

Sean said that he and Pete were good friends in 2001-2003 (x). Andy Hurley played on his band Vegan Reich’s EP (x). Racetraitor, a band Pete was previously in, was on Sean’s label (x). FOB’s first album was released on their label, directly putting money in Sean’s hands. Pete has the ecology symbol tattooed on his back, a logo of hardline. Tattoos were a very important signifier of what group you were in in that scene. When asked, he’s extremely vague about how/why he got it.

Pete and the rest of FOB are still friendly with them on some level. Ryan Downey published an oral history of FOB with interviews from the members and Sean in 2023 (x) (x).

Do I think pete and andy actually supported this? No. They clearly aren’t anti-feminist or homophobic. A member of racetraitor said that they weren’t “that into” hardline back then because of those beliefs (x). However, they were still friends with, supported, and even funded these people because they felt like they understood eachother in other ways and could benefit from associating with them (x). Pete was 22 or older, not a child. Pete distanced himself from Hardline when they stopped benefiting him and as FOB got more popular, he didn’t need their help anymore. He also probably realized how that would make the band look as their fanbase grew and they began to shape their image as a progressive, accepting group. In my opinion, this isn’t something a genuine, moral person would do.

✿ Hayley Williams ✿
Pete and Patrick have collaborated with and been friendly with Hayley publicly, yet have continually disrespected her.
Hayley Williams’ ex husband had been grooming her since she was a teenager, and emotionally abused and cheated on her. His band, New Found Glory, played with FOB in LA in 2023.
Pete participated in an emo history book in 2023 that was “very disparaging towards Hayley Williams and conversations about sexual misconduct.” (x)
James Montgomery, a very good friend of pete’s and the ghostwriter of Gray, often published degrading and insulting articles about famous women. He called Paramore an industry plant (x). And made fun of their “girl power” image (x). Referring to Hayley, he said “they're both pretty girls with dye jobs who are showing the guys how it's done (blech) and are frequently moved to the front during photo shoots.” (x)

✿ Pete's performativity, fake activism, and manufactured image ✿
Pete and FOB have built an image as an accepting, progressive band that cares about women’s rights and lgbt rights. Pete wentz has gained money and fans from the implication of his bisexuaity / homoerotic friendships. Yet he publicly has and continues to associate with people who believed / believe that gays should be executed and feminists deserve to be s/ad.

(from souryogurtgirl)
He has cosigned the rewriting of feminist history to make himself look good, claiming credit for feminist slogans/movements that he had nothing to do with, while pushing female fronted bands (on his label or associated with him) that sexualize children’s clothes, wear slogans like “daddy’s little princess”, and sing degrading lyrics. This includes lyrics about ‘shooting fat sluts,’ about black women being ‘ratchet’ or having ‘cheap weave,’ about women ‘looking cute on their knees,’ about women's vaginas being ‘loose,’ and about how women's value is based in what men rate them on a scale of 1-10,” and about “barely legal” girls sleeping with old men. (x) Women who previously worked with him and his friends have claimed that they were pressured to sexualize themselves (x). Ironically, Pete has said he wouldn’t let his daughter into the music industry because he worries about these exact things happening to her.

✿ Predatory pattern of behavior ✿ **Again, none of this is inherently wrong, I’m not trying to be a conspiracy theorist, but in the context of what he did to Jeanae, it’s suspicious.**

Since FOB started out, pete showed a lack of boundaries between him and the many younger, impressionable people he hung out with in his 20s. he frequently called himself a “kid”, “peter pan”, and even “the pied piper leading [his young fans] down the vermin hole.” I understand he was emotionally stunted due to mental illness, but it’s also clear he knew what he was doing.
From the Rolling Stone article:

Obviously patrick was very young when he joined the band. Most of the members of panic were just high schoolers when he scouted them online, and he showed very little regard for their safety or mental health, or if kids their age would be able to handle fame, global tours, and the many vices he and his friends introduced them to. Even the first conversation between ryan and pete is a bit creepy. Several of the women he was rumored to be involved with in his late 20s were 18-21, and some even worked for him.

Some other things that look bad in context include his weird fetishistic halloween costume And his associations with diddy (x) .

Pete’s image is manufactured. He isn’t some evil mastermind, but he is a good businessman. He was raised around politicians and went to school for it. He knows how these things work. In my opinion, Pete is not a real advocate. I doubt he cares that much about any political issues. He seems to just say what he thinks will make him popular, and switch up when it will benefit him. There’s no doubt that he’s a great artist who indirectly helped a lot of people and has many good qualities, but I don’t think he’s as genuine as many people believe, and he’s definitely not a role model.