Indie rock artist Ariel Pink, who was criticized and dismissed by his label after a controversy arose over his support for Donald J. Trump, went to Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” program on Thursday night to answer the presenter’s questions about being “stripped of his livelihood” by telling Carlson that he is “destitute” as a result of the culture of cancellation.
In response to Carlson’s statement that Pink is “an artist who can’t record”, Pink said: “I also can’t tour now. So, that leaves me practically destitute and on the street. I’m kind of overwhelmed now and I don’t know exactly what to do. “
“You are taking a big risk when you come to this show,” said Carlson, an implicit acknowledgment that receiving support from the conservative host may not improve his battered status in his music community. “Why are you doing this?”
“I have no other resources,” replied the singer and songwriter. “What am I going to do? Will I be able to publish my statement in magazines? Right now, the narrative is being pushed, and not many people are going to let a counter-narrative into the fold. I mean, it’s not nuanced … I don’t know, man. I don’t know what I’m going to do, “he said, looking ready to be moved.” I didn’t have a choice. There is nothing else for me to do. I can’t even pay my lawyer right now. “
I definitely had Tucker Carlson pretending to know who Ariel Pink is on my 2021 bingo card
– joe traitor (@phoebe_bridgers) January 15, 2021
Pink still has legal representation, according to a story published on Pitchfork on Wednesday, which quoted Pink’s lawyer, Thomas Mortimer. The Pitchfork article was about a Los Angeles County Superior Court decision against Pink earlier this month. involving allegations that he and an ex-girlfriend – musician and video director Charlotte Ercoli Coe – made against each other, accusing the other of harassment. Pink’s offer to obtain a restraining order against her ex was denied by the court, which concluded that her claims against him were “constitutionally protected activities”. citing California’s “anti-SLAPP” statute, which is designed to protect against intimidation through frivolous lawsuits. The court also ordered Pink to pay Coe’s legal fees, according to Pitchfork.
Carlson did not mention Pink’s legal criticism in the seven-minute interview, nor did he mention any of the other controversies that revolved around Pink over the years, keeping his focus on the rocker as a typical musician whose career was destroyed solely as a result of participating of the Trump rally in Washington, D, C. January 6.
“When reasonable people like you are destroyed, we should all know,” said Carlson at the end of the interview.
Mexican Summer label cited “recent events” as a reason to announce that it would remove Pink from the roster on January 9, after a three-year season, although it was under pressure from some of Pink’s many antagonists in community music long before the Trump controversy escalated. the bet, by previous comments widely seen as homophobic and other issues of personal behavior.
“When did you find out that your career had been destroyed?” Carlson asked at the beginning of the conversation.
“Two days later,” he replied. Immediately after Pink received criticism for attending the rally – but not the ensuing Capitol Hill – Pink said that “my record company had written me to inform me that they were getting too hot and too many negative reactions for supporting me, and they assured me that wouldn’t let me fall. ”
“They always reassure you first, don’t they?” interrupted Carlson with a bitter laugh.
There were no such smiles from Pink. “I didn’t apologize,” he said. “I felt like I hadn’t done anything. But these articles obviously put me under siege, which I was not. And of course I do not advocate violence in any way … I was there for a peaceful rally. That was all it was for me. but there was no fact check or anything like that (since) 130 articles came out in 24 hours. And the reaction was just … they succumbed to the cancellation of the culture. Twenty-four hours later, they wrote back; they texted me saying they would go public and drop me at that point. “
“So, to go to a political rally,” said Carlson, “not participating in the violence, not seeing any violence, not even knowing that there was violence – you went to bed at your hotel (while the turmoil ensued) – for that , your career disappeared in one day. Your livelihood is gone. “
“Yes. No excuses, no support,” said Pink. “I mean, my family has received death threats. They don’t even know I’m here. I had to run away because they were too scared to be on TV. Because they have been receiving (threats) all week … so am I. I mean, hate is overwhelming. There are new articles being written. People are so mean. “
Carlson: “You have lived in this country all your life. Do you recognize that? “
Rosa: “Not at all. I mean, I’m terrified. I mean, that is what I voted against. I did not vote as much for Trump as against canceling the culture and this environment that has been on fire for about four years and is about to grow and get even worse. “
ariel pink in tucker carlson used to be just a combo of cards against humanity, now it’s real
– randy (@MirandaStn) January 15, 2021
When Carlson asked Pink what he thought the “purpose” of his cancellation was, Pink replied, “I think it’s the desperation and the feat that is driving all of this. I think there was a lot of effort to remove the president, or at least not let him be four more years old – which I think is fair. He lost, and I think he lost a lot. I am not contesting anything. Biden is perfectly fine with me as president. But I think they are still afraid of something like that. It seems that they are painful winners at this point. And people seem to want to kick me too, just like they did with Trump. Kick us when we’re on the ground. “
The appearance of a favorite of the indie scene on the most highly rated program to the right on television was the cause of cognitive dissonance for many.
“I definitely had Tucker Carlson pretending to know who Ariel Pink is on my 2021 bingo card,” tweeted Phoebe Bridgers. AC Newman of the New Pornographers wrote, “Ariel Pink is a guest on Tucker Carlson’s show. Of course, why not … Am I the only person who has liked Ariel Pink’s music in the past decade, thinking it is the great job of a troubled mind? This really looks ‘on the mark’. ”Other tweets included comments like“ Ariel Pink in Tucker Carlson used to be just a Cards Against Humanity winning combo; now it’s real ”and“ We’re only TWO WEEKS in 2021 and Tucker Carlson is conducting an interview with Ariel Pink … It’s safe to say that this year will be a big fever dream. “Furthermore:” The fact that people at MAGA have to pretend they like Ariel Pink is hilarious now. “
Pink’s statements to Carlson about the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s election, and that he is “okay” with Biden as president, are at odds with the contrary statements he made on the Wrong Opinion podcast in late December, which became more widely disclosed as the controversy over his rally attendance grew.
In the podcast, Pink characterized January 20 as “guillotine day” and expressed concern for the state of the country if Trump was not certified as president for a second term, against all odds. “I don’t see how things can go on,” he said then. “I think Trump is in office now is the only reason we are working … We will never see another like him (Trump).” He said the Democratic side “cheated. They are on their way to acquire these Dominion systems … in some kind of collaboration with China. “
He also downplayed the intelligence of all Democrats, telling the podcast presenter that anyone who might “still be a Democrat at this point … to me it’s as if, all of a sudden, all their intelligence had turned out to be a complete scam. All the intelligence they had in the world, all their fucking artistic genius … it was just a facade … Literally, everything that Democrats defend, every platform, is bullshit. So Trump for me is an accusation of any nonsense, “he concluded, with a certain levity:” I am so gay for Trump that I would let him fuck me in the ass. “
These comments alone – along with Pink’s other remarks about doubting climate science and COVID vaccines – may not have been a reason for dismissing a label, but Pink had been criticized for years by previous comments in which she compared the gay marriage to allow pedophilia and necrophilia. In 2014, Pitchfork published an unsigned editorial asking fans and musicians to stop surrendering to Pink after “troll” behavior.
Pitchfork’s account on Wednesday of the latest developments in Pink’s legal procedures retells the story of how Coe claimed that he “physically and mentally abused [her] during [their] relationship, including the 2017 incident at the San Francisco show ”, where she said he“ physically attacked ”her on stage. Coe initially called the meeting “fun”, but later claimed that she was coerced into saying so by Pink, and that she actually constituted “drums”; Later, Pink apologized for the incident. Coe’s statement to the court that finally ruled in his favor cited a “tumultuous relationship, characterized by an imbalance of power” due to the disparity in both fame and age (she was 19 and he was 38 at the time).
Coe acknowledged complaining about Pink to the Mexican Summer label in mid-2020, after learning that the label “was adopting a zero tolerance policy towards abuse and harassment.” As part of her attempt to obtain a restraining order against Coe, Pink provided the court with a copy of an email she wrote to her record label in July 2020 saying “he is 10000% a predator”.
In her petition for a restraining order, Pink told the court that Coe had “directly threatened … (e) tried to blackmail him with false allegations of sexual misconduct for his record company and financial supporters, for the media, including Pitchfork and Variety, and for the general public. ”(Variety employees do not remember being contacted by Coe or his representatives.)