Wavves Distances Himself from Say Anything’s Max Bemis
Wavves leader Nathan Williams is headed back into the studio to make a full album out of the upcoming collaborative album he had coming with Max Bemis, the frontman of Say Anything, who is under fire after screenshots of his “alleged” flirtatious messages with two teenage fans that were shared on the Say Anything subreddit.
Williams shared to the Wavves social media account: “Not sure what to say but fuck Max. Fuck Say Anything. I’m sorry y’all. I spent 11 months making this record and Max spent 4 days so I dunno exactly what I’m supposed to do. I’m sorry guys.” He then followed up with a post saying “Going back into the studio on Monday, and I will finish this as a proper wavves album. I’ll have more announcements soon.”
Many fans, however, are reminding people like Williams that it’s not exactly a surprise that Bemis did this, as he’s had a checkered past, and not in the cool, Vans slip-on sneaker sort of way.
A 17-year-old posted screenshots of her talking to Max Bemis on his verified Instagram account, which you can view here. She went on to say, quoted on LambGoat, “Even if Max hadn’t said anything dodgy or sexual to me ever, a 40+ year old man shouldn’t be talking to a 17 year old… That’s odd, and there’s a lack of boundaries there.”
My previous 6 or so months with Max Bemis, but I’m 17.
byu/Ancient-Fan-2636 inSayAnything
After the post made its rounds, more people came forward with their own stories about Bemis, while others discussed the lyrics to many of Say Anything’s songs and how they should have clued the fanbase in on who Max truly is.
While looking into this, I came across an interesting post on Brooklyn Vegan from 2017, which chronicles Bemis talking about how he believed there was “sexual misconduct in the punk and emo scene,” and went on a Twitter rant, including how he felt he should retire “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too” from the setlist.
Gotta sound in
— Max Bemis (@maxbemis) November 10, 2017
I was a naive kid when I entered “this scene” at 19 and found out that a lot of people I knew of or looked up to repeatedly cheated on their spouses and girlfriends, hooked up with underage girls etc
— Max Bemis (@maxbemis) November 10, 2017
It has been heartbreaking and continues to be jarring as someone who I hope is different. It makes me question even the mutual not-coerced of-age interactions i’ve had with women during my youth. We should all question the dynamics of sexuality and our role in this.
— Max Bemis (@maxbemis) November 10, 2017
That being said, I’ve never and would never cheat on my wife or betray my family and that is also a form of emotional abuse I see pervaded by many many people in entertainment as well as this other obvious creepy shit
— Max Bemis (@maxbemis) November 10, 2017
Given all of this, I’m going to be retiring the song Wow I Can Get Sexual, Too for the foreseeable future. It may speak partially of my flaws but it’s mostly a sarcastic caricature of someone i’ve never been at all and is no longer appropriate during this crisis
— Max Bemis (@maxbemis) November 10, 2017
consent is a no brainer (obviously not to some) but it can even go beyond that into much more finicky places. maybe i kissed a girl who was having a secret emotional crisis i never asked about. maybe somebody i was with was already in a relationship. this is a social disease..
— Max Bemis (@maxbemis) November 10, 2017
the most chronic dire symptom of which being rape, coercion, and sexual assault. we all need to care more, respect women more, respect ourselves more and GIVE A SHIT
— Max Bemis (@maxbemis) November 10, 2017
As we know, 10 years can change a person. But fundamentally speaking, judging by previous lyrics over the years, first-hand accounts, and more, we’re more likely to believe that this string of thoughts was lip service in a time when bands were being called upon to speak up.
It’s also worth noting that at the beginning of 2026, Say Anything toured with Motion City Soundtrack and played “Wow,…”, so it didn’t stay out of the setlist. “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” I guess.
The Say Anything Instagram account posted that Bemis would be canceling his upcoming performances to “focus on his mental health,” which is, frankly, a cheap way of saying I’ve been outed and now need to hide.”
I’ll go with the one user’s sentiment on that particular post to end this article: @meganjohnson92 says, “Maybe next time he could write ‘wow, I can take accountability too.'”