Victoria Canal alleges grooming; Franti admits past affair; tours hit

A public dispute over abuse allegations in the music industry intensified this week as Victoria Canal’s disclosures about grooming and abuse prompted a cascade of withdrawals from a high-profile tour and the cancellation of a major travel concert cruise. In response, Michael Franti, the frontman of Spearhead, acknowledged a past extramarital affair with an artist who toured with him seven years ago, while denying Canal’s broader abuse claims and expressing remorse for the pain caused to his family and colleagues. The fallout has unsettled Franti’s touring plans and raised questions about accountability, power dynamics on the road, and how survivors are heard in the wake of public disclosures.

Canal, a Spanish-American singer who has collaborated with Franti in the past, went public in August with a detailed account alleging grooming and sexual abuse by an unnamed powerful man early in her career. She described being pulled into the music industry by someone who appeared loving and principled in public but who allegedly manipulated her, touched her without consent, and isolated her from others during a year-long period beginning when she was 19. Canal stressed that she felt...