Ariel Pink says his family have had ‘death threats’ after he attended pro-Trump rally

Musician said backlash has left him ‘pretty much destitute and on the street’

Indie-rock musician Ariel Pink, who was dropped by his label after attending the pro-Trump rally that preceded the Capitol riot, has complained about being “stripped of his livelihood”.

The artist appeared on Fox News show Tucker Carlson Tonight on Thursday (14 January) to condemn “cancel culture”.

In response to Carlson’s statement that Pink is “a recording artist who can’t record”, the singer-songwriter said: “I can’t tour either at this point. So it pretty much leaves me destitute and on the street. I’m sort of overwhelmed right now and I don’t know exactly what to do.”

Acknowledging that he risked alienating fans further by appearing on a conservative show, Pink said: “I don’t have any other recourse. What am I gonna do? Am I gonna be able to get my statement out in magazines? Right now the narrative is being pushed, and there’s not very many people that are gonna let a counter-narrative enter into the fold. I mean there’s no nuance… I don’t know, man… I had no choice… I can’t even afford my lawyer right now.”

Responding to the backlash, Pink added: “I felt like I hadn’t done anything. But these articles obviously placed me at the siege, which I was not at. And of course I don’t advocate for violence at all… I was there for a peaceful rally. That’s all it was to me.”

Pink said his family have been “getting death threats” and called the hate “just overwhelming”. “People are so mean,” he added.

Defending his politics, he said: “This is what I voted against. I didn’t vote so much for Trump as against ‘cancel culture’ and this environment that’s been blazing for about four years and is about to ramp up and get even worse.”  

He also made comments about the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s election, and said he is “fine” having Biden as president. They seemed to contradict previous statements he made in December, in which he said the Democrats “did cheat”.

The TV appearance raised many eyebrows, with Phoebe Bridgers tweeting: “I definitely had Tucker Carlson pretending to know who Ariel Pink is on my 2021 bingo card.”

AC Newman of the group New Pornographers added: “Ariel Pink is a guest on Tucker Carlson’s show. Sure, why not… Am I the only person that’s liked Ariel Pink’s music over the last decade, thinking it’s the great work of a disturbed mind? This truly feels ‘on brand’.”  

Podcaster PJ Vogt wrote: “The fact that MAGA people have to pretend to like Ariel Pink now is hilarious.”

The label Mexican Summer had released Pink’s latest album, Dedicated to Bobby Jameson, in 2018, and had been set to release Pink’s forthcoming music later this month.

The Los Angeles-born musician is best known for his first single “Round and Round”, which was named the number one record of 2010 by Pitchfork.