The first time I heard musician Ariel Pink’s song “Round and Round,” it felt like my eardrums were eating delicious candy. His music was dreamy and catchy and cool. I saw him at the Wiltern a few years back and became a huge fan of all his work.
I soon learned that Ariel Pink was actually Ariel Rosenberg, a nice Jewish boy from Beverlywood. I once tweeted at him that his Wikipedia said he was from Beverly Hills, and I wanted some clarification since I live in the area. He confirmed that he did indeed grow up there.
I thought it was so amazing that this trendy, hipster musician could come out of Beverlywood — of all places. It’s like how horror punk band the Misfits formed in some nice suburban New Jersey town, or how genius comic Andy Kaufman was from Great Neck. And I was so close to where this talent was cultivated.
The day of the riots at the Capitol, I was shocked to see that Ariel was trending on Twitter. He had been posting about his support for Trump prior to the event, but I thought that he was doing it as a joke. There is no way an indie musician from Los Angeles, who has pink hair and makes avant-garde art, could be a Trump supporter, I had thought.
But there, on Twitter, was a picture of Pink laying on a bed with another musician, John Maus, and talking about how he went to Washington, D.C., to see Trump speak. He said that he then went back to his hotel room for a nap.
That same day, the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled against Pink’s bid at civil harassment restraining orders against Charlotte Coe, his ex-girlfriend who has accused him of abuse. Pink has denied the allegations Coe charged. Pink plans to appeal the restraining order.
Suddenly, people were bashing Pink on Twitter, saying they were taking him off their playlists and never listening to him again for his participation in the rally. Two days later, he lost his record deal. A few days after that, on January 14, Ariel Pink went on Tucker Carlson to defend himself while wearing, of all things, a big gold Star of David necklace.
I couldn’t believe it. Tucker played a video of Ariel’s in which he has pink hair and is wearing effeminate clothing. What would Tucker’s typical crowd think of this guy? In the interview, Ariel said he didn’t support the riots or participate in them. He said his label reassured him they wouldn’t drop him for his attendance — but then they did. (Pink’s ex-girlfriend claims that she had previously contacted the record label about the alleged abuse, and they didn’t drop him then). He claimed he’s broke and can’t make money anymore. He added that he and his family had received death threats. Tucker sympathized with him.
So did I. Someone very close to me was canceled for their religious views. He was on his way to making it in entertainment, and then, all of a sudden, once it was revealed that he was religious — and assumed to be conservative — all his contacts stopped getting back to him. The doors shut. He was locked out. Because they thought he had the wrong opinions, he couldn’t make a living.
What I’ve found in cancel culture is that the loudest voices online — on both sides — are not always the most representative ones. They ignore that I, like most people in this country, have friends all across the political spectrum. Of course, we need to condemn hate when we see it, like the Neo-Nazis at the Capitol and the violent rioters who attacked the cops. But to fault someone for having different but non-extremist views is insane. We waste so much time on those with the “wrong opinions” that the people who actually do things wrong are rarely held accountable.
We waste so much time on those with the “wrong opinions” that the people who actually do things wrong are rarely held accountable.
The world doesn’t know what Ariel has been through or what he’s learned or why he likes Trump. Nobody bothered to ask. They just said, “Off with your head!” That was it.
To be fair, Ariel’s abuse allegations, which are still pending in court, deserve to be investigated and handled by the proper authorities. Pink admitted to some wrongdoing in the past, and I hope that he gets the help he needs and that his ex can heal from the pain she has experienced.
Even if Ariel is guilty, that shouldn’t alter our consumption of his work, especially since he has admitted some wrongdoing. I still watch Woody Allen films. Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” is a pure masterpiece. Stephen King wrote a very horrifying scene in “It” involving children engaging in sexual acts with one another, but he’s still considered to be brilliant. You can separate the art from the artist. If you don’t like how artists conduct themselves in their personal lives or the fact that they are, well, messed up, then boycott them by not buying their art.
But don’t try to ruin their life. You’re not G-d. You can’t take justice into your own hands — that’s why we have the legal system. When you think it’s your duty to cancel someone, to completely destroy them, then what you’re saying is you don’t believe G-d has a plan, and that person will get what they deserve.
From one concerned Jew to another, I hope Ariel can find some peace to heal and get help during this troubling time. He’s the latest victim of a sick culture that I know is going to eat itself alive. After that, hopefully people like me can come out from under their covers and create some much-needed unity once again.
Kylie Ora Lobell is a writer for the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, The Forward, Tablet Magazine, Aish, and Chabad.org and the author of the first children’s book for the children of Jewish converts, “Jewish Just Like You.”