Hayley Williams' Bandmates Have A Lot To Say About Her

Paramore was founded in 2004 by singer Hayley Williams, brothers Josh and Zac Farro (guitarist and drummer, respectively), Jeremy Davis (bassist) and Jason Bynum (guitarist). What began as a jam band after school eventually took off into the Grammy Award-winning group we see today. Hayley Williams has fronted the band throughout its entire life, and she hasn't been shy about voicing her opinions on politics, LGBTQ+ issues, and sexism in the emo and pop-punk scene.

Perhaps it's unsurprising then that her current and former bandmates have spoken stongly about her — in both good and bad ways. From criticism of alleged management issues to performance praise, Williams' collaborators, past and present, haven't held back their opinions on the outspoken frontwoman. Here's what they've said.

Zac and Josh Farro (above) left Paramore in 2010. In a since-deleted blog post from the same year, Josh alleged mistreatment by the label and slammed Hayley Williams for reportedly keeping the band in the dark about the band's signing to Atlantic records. Or, according to Josh, Williams' signing. "The band was in the dark the whole time," Josh wrote. "After many meetings between Hayley, her manager and the labels they decided to sign her to Atlantic records."

Josh said Williams' signing of the contract confused the band. "We were told this was a 'band', but we were too young to grasp all of this," he wrote. "So far, Zac and I haven't signed with another label, although I guess our part of Paramore sure could. Next thing we knew we were having a signing party for Hayley."

After re-recording Williams' solo demos, Josh said the label tried to "fire the entire band." Though he said the singer continued to assure the members they were still a band, her father — the group's tour manager-driver at the time — didn't help their confidence. "Her dad would constantly threaten to 'pull the plug' on the whole band if we complained about anything, suggesting that we were hired guns and Hayley was the real artist, when in reality we were also part of the band," Josh wrote. "We've always been treated as less important than Hayley. It's been obvious how her family views things."

In the 2010 blog post, Josh Farro addressed his romantic relationship with Hayley Williams — they dated from 2004 to 2007 — and suggested she was straying from her Christian faith. "As you all know Hayley and I dated and broke up during this album cycle," he wrote. "Things then started going downhill for our band. Hayley and Jeremy's views started changing from what we all once believed in." In particular, Farro suggested the shift in her views surfaced during the recording of 2009's "Brand New Eyes." 

"Hayley presented lyrics to us that were really negative and we didn't agree with," he wrote. "For example, 'the truth never set me free,' which contradicts what the Bible says in John 8:32 ('and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall sat you free'). We fought her about how her lyrics misrepresented our band and what we stood for, but in the end she got her way. Instead of fighting her any longer, we decided to just roll over and let it go."

Paramore initially discussed being a Christian band, but has since distanced itself from the notion. The reason, The Guardian quoted Williams as saying in 2022, is members being "at different stages of unraveling their relationship to faith." She also told The Guardian in 2010 that she felt "vulnerable" and "exposed" while writing with the group after her split with Farro. "It was more embarrassing after the split," she said. "We'd get into arguments and he'd be like, 'Why can't you write in front of me? It shouldn't be that big of a deal, you know me."

Despite the drama, Josh Farro has spoken positively about Hayley Williams. In 2016, he talked to Teen Vogue ahead of his solo debut, "Walkaways," on which he handles vocal and guitar duties. Notably, he praised his former bandmate's talent as a performer. "I would watch Hayley, and it was like, man, I could never do that," he said. "She's so high-energy, she's so talented, she's got this charisma. But as I play more and more, I can see potential of getting to a point ... not that I would be like Hayley, but I would find my groove as far as talking on stage and moving."

In another interview published in NME the same month, he praised Williams again, and not just regarding her ability as a vocalist, either. "I know Jeremy's a great dude but Hayley and Taylor [York, guitarist] are great people too," he said.

Bass guitarist Jeremy Davis left Paramore before the band released its 2005 debut, "All We Know is Falling," for personal reasons. He returned in 2007 ahead of the group's sophomore effort, "Riot!", but left again in 2015. The band's Facebook post called his departure "really painful" but wished him luck with his future projects. The following year, he sued the band and didn't hold back on Hayley Williams.

Davis said Williams and guitarist Taylor York — who were dating as of 2023 — promised to share authorship of Paramore's 2013 self-titled album, but he never received royalty or credit. "Plaintiff is not listed as a co-author of any musical compositions embodied on the album Paramore, with the exception of a partial, one-minute-ninety-second interlude entitled 'Interlude: Holiday,' which is only available as part of the liner notes included with a purchase of the entire Paramore album, but not individually purchased singles," the lawsuit claimed, per the Daily Mail. Speaking to the press, Davis accused Williams of "backstabbing" him, though the legal dispute didn't last long — he reached a settlement with the group in 2017, per The Tennessean.

Though Zac Farro left Paramore with his brother in 2010, he rejoined the band in 2017 and has since distanced himself from his brother's controversial anti-LGBTQ+ comments. In a 2021 interview with Tape Op Magazine, he explained that he took a break from Paramore to get back into a normal life routine after extensive touring — but realized he needed music.

"I was fortunate to rekindle things with Hayley [Williams] and Taylor [York, guitar] and join back up with them on 'After Laughter,'" he told the outlet. "I was just intending to play drums on it, but then they invited me back in the band, which was really cool. It's a healing process of rekindling friendships." In a 2018 interview with MusicRadar, he expressed similar sentiments. "This incredible journey of starting as friends again, and rebuilding that, and then just discovering music together and hearing Taylor write new stuff, it's been an incredibly cool process," he said. That same year he told Vice he loves Paramore and is "so thankful to be best friends again with them."

If you're still curious, learn more about Hayley' Williams' tragic real-life story.