Amanda Palmer and the Evelyn Evelyn Conjoined Twin Controversy

Singer Amanda Palmer has unwittingly created a controversy with her new collaboration with Evelyn Evelyn, a set of musically-inclined conjoined twins who are set to release their debut full-length album on March 30.

Why the controversy? It seems that Evelyn Evelyn are actually Amanda Palmer and fellow musician Jason Webley, pretending to be conjoined twins.

Some disability rights advocates consider the project exploitative, offensive and/or a mockery of actual conjoined twins.

Palmer and her critics traded differing opinions in a series of blog posts, with Palmer apologizing for any unintended offense but not backing down from the spirit and enthusiasm of the Evelyn Evelyn project.

Background on the conjoined twins Evelyn Evelyn

In 2007, Amanda Palmer, then lead singer for the Brechtian punk cabaret duo the Dresden Dolls, began writing on her MySpace blog about two conjoined twins. Palmer wrote that she and Jason Webley began corresponding with the twins and eventually got together with them to record music.

Palmer and Webley constructed a complex back story regarding the conjoined twins. Many observers had no idea the twins were not real until a recent Spin Magazine article on Evelyn Evelyn let the cat out of the bag.

On March 30, the self-titled album Evelyn Evelyn will hit stores. The album features contributions from an impressive lineup of musicians, including Tegan and Sara, Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, Margaret Cho, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Andrew W.K., Franz Nicolay, and Jimmy Urine of Mindless Self Indulgence.

The album also features a contribution from Frances Bean Cobain, daughter of Courtney Love and the late Kurt Cobain.

Why some disability rights advocates are angry about Evelyn Evelyn

Upon hearing of the Evelyn Evelyn project, bloggers at the site http://disabledfeminists.com spoke out, writing that while they don't believe Palmer had bad intentions, they believe the project is "problematic" and reinforces stereotypes of people with disabilities as freakish and weird.

Amanda Palmer has taken more criticism than Jason Webley, probably because Palmer is more vocal in general and because she's the bigger name, having sold lots of records with the Dresden Dolls.

Palmer and Webley responded to the criticism via posts on their respective blogs. Palmer was shocked that people were offended by the project, noting that her career as a solo artist and with the Dolls was built on a spirit of "radical inclusiveness" and that her fan base has always been composed largely of outcasts who feel marginalized by normal society. Clearly, the last thing Amanda Palmer would do is intentionally try to belittle this group of people.

Summary: Amanda Palmer and the Evelyn Evelyn conjoined twin controversy

Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley have been promoting an upcoming concert tour, which is billed as a performance by Evelyn Evelyn, with short opening solo sets from Palmer and Webley.

The album and concert tour are going forward as planned, with Palmer and Webley hoping that everyone will simply understand the project is not meant to be offensive but rather an artful, creative celebration of people.

Sources:

http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/396762227/evelyn-evelyn-drama-drama

http://disabledfeminists.com/2010/02/09/evelyn-evelyn-ableism-ableism/