February 25, 2008

Paramore Aren't Breaking Up, Hayley Williams Isn't Pregnant: Band Clarifies Rumors

By James Montgomery (MTV.com)

Hayley Williams is quickly realizing the power of the written word - or at least the power of the vaguely worded blog post.

On Friday (February 22), less than 24 hours after a post she wrote on Paramore's Web site inadvertently started a cavalcade of rather nasty breakup rumors, Williams took to the blog once again, this time hoping to clear up all confusion about the state of her band.

"Since we posted the last entry, we've gotten tons of phone calls and people posting things on Web sites saying that we are breaking up. I just want to make it clear, though ... we weren't saying the band was over," she wrote. "We posted because we are going through hard times and we felt that because we have a really good support system in you guys, our fans, it would be better for us to just be honest about what's going on - even though it was a pretty vague explanation."

She's not kidding, either. Williams' post - and the rather vague mentions of "internal issues" contained within - was picked up by nearly every Paramore fan site and celeb-gossip spot across the Net, causing a panic among fans and kicking up some particularly insane rumors in the process, including one that the feisty frontwoman was breaking up the band because she was pregnant. All of this made for a rather colossal headache for Williams, who claims she was just trying to be honest with the band's fanbase about why Paramore cancelled their European tour. (Note to Hayley: This is the Internet. Vagueness + honesty = danger!)

"Man, some of the rumors that I've heard going around are insane! It's weird how out of hand things can get even when you just try to tell a simple truth (for the record, my Eggo is not preggo)," Williams wrote. "Anyway, we just need to take time to make this band the best it can be ... and we are doing that now."

Thursday, when contacted by MTV News for comment on Paramore's status, a spokesperson for their label, Atlantic Records, would only offer that they're scheduled to shoot a video for the song "That's What You Get" in Nashville on March 2-3, and then will embark on a co-headlining tour with Jimmy Eat World in April. And in that spirit, Williams ended her latest blog post with a scheduling reminder of her own - mainly that fans can count on seeing Paramore take the stage March 27 at the Hard Rock in Orlando.

"Thanks for all the love and the encouragement you guys have shown," she wrote. "And WE WILL! be seeing you guys on the 27th of March in Orlando, FL."