Rex Orange County pulled out of a scheduled appearance on French TV show Quotidien on Tuesday over an insensitive sketch involving the KKK. The group, a project fronted by Alex O'Connor, were due to perform on the daily chat show broadcast by national broadcaster TMC. However, upon arrival at the studio O'Connor learned of the sketch and, after expressing his concerns and urging producers to drop the bit, dropped out in protest.
“I’m sorry to my fans that I will no longer be performing on Quotidien tonight. Upon arrival to tape for my scheduled appearance on the show I became aware of a sketch planned for this evening’s episode that was at odds with my core values and after addressing with the show’s producers and understanding that they intended to move forward with the sketch despite my discomfort I’ve had to cancel my appearance in order to not be aligned with that content,” he wrote in an initial post on Twitter and Instagram. “Apologies to anyone that was planning to tune in to see me.”
“Considering the show has now been aired, I’d like to be clear. The people at Quotidien did not respect the way I felt about one particular tasteless joke regarding the KKK,” he wrote in a further post on Twitter alongside a screenshot of three people in white hoods. “I told them I didn’t want my performance to be aired on the same show as this particular section. It was then made very clear that my performance was NOT as important as the joke. They refused to take it out. So I pulled out. Clearly I’m not good enough for them. Oh well, at least the KKK is! Fair enough.”
The FADER has reached out for further comment. Rex Orange County's Apricot Princess was released in 2017.