Within Temptation recently discussed how they lost a massive amount of social media followers following their Instagram post that celebrated Pride.
In a recent interview with Germany’s Radio Bob!, the Dutch symphonic metal band’s frontwoman Sharon den Adel was asked about their Instagram following, specifically if the band had realised that they had surpassed 400,000 followers on the social media platform.
“Well, to be honest, I’m not sure if I should say this on radio, but I was a bit shocked of our own audience in a way, because we reached actually 4.2 [420,000] and we lost a two [20,000], because we made an announcement, like, okay, just a post about Pride [the yearly event for acceptance and visibility of the LGBTIQ+ community] in the Netherlands. And we lost 0,2 just by one post saying equality stands for,” she replied (as per Blabbermouth).
She continued: “I don’t care about losing those, but it was a shock to me. So many people were appalled by that message, it’s, like, what is the world going to? I was a bit sad about that. It was, like, okay, because you said something about equality and how we see people, how we treat people. Wow.”
The vocalist went on to say that it was a shock to see how “people are thinking about how things are changing in society sometimes by things you post.” She added that though she did not see that reaction coming, she did not regret sharing the post and was happy that it happened “because it just cleans up the database. Who cannot stand for equality for everyone? It’s, like, come on.”
This is not the first time the band have been vocal regarding their political views, at the end of last year, den Adel was asked about the importance of the band vocalising their political stances by Mexico’s Summa Inferno. The question was referring to the group’s tracks ‘Wireless’ and ‘Bleed Out’ – the title track of their 2023 LP of the same name – which highlighted topics such as the war in Ukraine and the suspicious death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman “detained” for not wearing a hijab.
The singer responded: “We are musicians. And what do musicians do? They’re storytellers, in my opinion. At least that’s how I see myself, as a storyteller.”
Within Temptation are currently on their 2024 ‘Bleed Out’ European and UK tour. Their next show is set to take place on Saturday (September 21) at the Poppodium 13 in Tilburg, Netherlands. You can visit here to check out a full list of dates and here to purchase any remaining tickets.
