Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan appeared at Magistrates court today charged with assaulting his ex-fiancee, a day after he quit the band.
The 39-year-old appeared at Leicester Magistrates court on Tuesday (July 7th) for assaulting Vikki Ager at their home in April this year.
The singer narrowly avoided jail time and instead received an 18-month community order and 200 hours of unpaid community service.
The court was shown video footage of Meighan striking Ager and dragging her by the ankles into the back garden of their home, causing her multiple injuries.
The singer will also be required to complete five days of rehabilitation, and was ordered to pay a £90 victim surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs.
It was reported that a child saw the “sustained assault” and called 999 that a “domestic incident was taking place”.
A statement from the band’s Twitter page on Monday said that Tom has been struggling for some time and is concentrating on getting his life back on track.
The band made a statement on Twitter yesterday stating that Tom Meighan was stepping down for “personal issues”.
The statement said: “Tom Meighan is stepping down from Kasabian by mutual consent. Tom has struggled with personal issues that have affected his behaviour for quite some time and now wants to concentrate all his energies on getting his life back on track. We will not be commenting further.”
Tom Meighan is stepping down from Kasabian by mutual consent. Tom has struggled with personal issues that have affected his behaviour for quite some time and now wants to concentrate all his energies on getting his life back on track. We will not be commenting further.
— KasabianHQ (@KasabianHQ) July 6, 2020
Meighan also made a statement on Twitter where he said: “Following today’s announcement I just wanted to let you all know that I am doing well. I’m in a really good place now. Thanks for all your love and support. I’ll be seeing you all very soon. TM x #TomMeighan #Kasabian”
Following today's announcement I just wanted to let you all know that I am doing well. I'm in a really good place now. Thanks for all your love and support. I'll be seeing you all very soon. TM x #TomMeighan #Kasabian
— Tom Meighan (@MeighanOfficial) July 6, 2020
However, fans of Kasabian have expressed their anger on social media of how they have handled the situation.
Paul Andrews said: “I gotta say that #Kasabian‘s PR strategy of announcing Tom Meighan was leaving the band for personal reasons and harvesting thousands of best wishes from concerned fans, knowing he would be revealed as a violent partner abuser just hours later, is disgustingly cynical.”
Another user added: “Kasabian sitting on the assault charges on Tom Meighan until the day before his court appearance rather than booting him after his beat his partner IN APRIL says way too much about that band and their priorities.”
Charity Women’s Aid made an announcement on Twitter. It read: “Disappointing to see @KasabianHQ say the reason their lead singer was leaving the band was due to ‘personal reasons that affected his behaviour’. Today he pleaded guilty to assaulting his former fiancée in front of a child. There is no excuse for abuse.“
