Indie music star Ariel Pink has been kicked from his record label after attending the President Trump rally – though he denied storming the Capitol and said he was taking a nap.
Label Mexican Summer made the announcement Friday amid backlash after “Baby” bragged about backing Trump at Wednesday’s rally in Washington, DC, preceding the riots.
“Due to recent events, Mexican Summer and its staff have decided to continue our working relationship with Ariel Rosenberg AKA Ariel Pink,” The New York-based record label tweeted Friday.
The singer had openly expected a backlash, even though he insisted he was asleep when rioters stormed the Capitol.
“I attended the meeting on the lawn of the White House and went back to the hotel and took a nap. case closed, ”he tweeted Thursday of his support at the gathering along with fellow indie musician John Maus, insisting that he was against “violent confrontations or riots.”
“Save yourself friends, cancel me now and turn me in before they come for you, ”he tweeted on Thursday about his response – he also said: “Vote for Trump.”
The decision to drop him just because of his political affiliation was soon tipped as ‘cancel culture’ at its worst and ‘textbook intolerance’.
“He went to a meeting for God’s sake,” one supporter replied to his former label, while others noted that he had not been charged with anything illegal.
“Dropping a great artist for speaking his mind says more about your label than the artist”, one fan wrote.
“You suppress open-mindedness, slow down free thinkers and promote a culture that inhibits creativity.”
Others even suggested it was “Clearly illegal.”
“Are you firing someone with different beliefs?” a commenter asked, suggesting it had opened a “clear lawsuit” for the Los Angeles singer.