Tegan Quin on Tyler, the Creator: 'He Can't Defend How He Behaves, What He Says'

Controversial rap collective Odd Future have been all over the news recently, what with Left Brain's alleged slapping of a photographer, a bottle getting thrown at Tyler, the Creator and the whole crew getting booted from the New Zealand Big Day Out festival over their homophobic lyrics.

It also just so happened that Spinner spoke with Tegan and Sara's Tegan Quin in the midst of all this OFWGKTA madness and inquired about what kind of fallout the duo experienced after her twin sister, Sara, posted an open letter condemning Tyler and his cohorts back in May. At the time, Tyler responded with a single tweet, "If Tegan and Sara need some hard d---, hit me up!" so we wondered if anything else came of the drama. (And if you're one of the many who's sick of hearing about Odd Future, we apologize.)

"The media just loves talking about it," Tegan said with hints of exasperation and bemusement. "Other than putting up the letter, there really was not a lot of blowback. Obviously, Tyler's response was perfect, because it articulated that he doesn't actually have a statement to make. He can't really defend how he behaves and what he says.

"The statement was directed at you, it was directed at the media, it was directed at us, it was directed at musicians, it was directed at the industry, saying, 'Let Tyler, the Creator make as many records as he wants, but, like, let's be bigger than that.' Let's not put it out and say we'll leave it up to the people. That's not how it works. If I had littered this interview with racial slurs and then said it was a joke, no one would be OK with that."

Tegan further said that the issue here goes beyond just Tyler and Odd Future's lyrics. "There's a double standard when it comes to misogyny and sexism and homophobia, and I think it's shameful that people in our industry put out his music," she says. "But that's OK. That's how it works.

"Beyond that, we had an overwhelming swell of people that came to us to give support, and that was really great. I wish more of them had spoken out, but I understand that by speaking out, they would have only gotten him more popularity, and we totally understood that. And I hope that people in our industry realize that you've got baseball players and basketball players and hockey players being fined for saying 'faggot,' but Tyler, the Creator says it 230 times, and we applaud him, and we give him MTV Music Awards. As an industry, we should be totally ashamed of ourselves."

In more pleasant Tegan and Sara news, the duo is releasing 'Get Along,' a 15-song CD and three-film DVD set, on Nov. 15. Check back soon for a full Q&A with Tegan about making the movie and the band's upcoming studio album.

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