Musician Ariel Pink Talks About Getting Canceled

One year ago, on January 6, 2021, a picture of musicians Ariel Pink and John Maus sitting in a D.C. hotel room popped up on Instagram. The caption read, “The day we almost died but instead had a great time.” 

In the midst of the chaos and confusion of the day, Pink, who had been posting pro-Trump messages on his social media, clarified what happened: “I was in D.C. to peacefully show my support for the president. I attended the rally on the White House lawn and went back to hotel and took a nap. Case closed.”

During a highly heated time – where someone simply stating they voted for President Trump might get them labeled as a racist – Pink got swept up in the hysteria and was subsequently canceled. On January 8, his record label, Mexican Summer, dropped him, and as Pink trended in the news cycle, fans unfollowed him, his friends abandoned him and many mistakenly thought he had participated in the riots.  

One year later, Pink, a Beverlywood native whose real name is Ariel Marcus Rosenberg, is still feeling the effects of his cancelation. 

“My career is destroyed,” he said. “My entire reputation is destroyed. The whole thing felt coordinated, but I know better than to think it was. It was just a bunch of people that didn’t care about the ethics of the situation. [Mexican Summer] just basically needed to push their agenda. They were afraid of being canceled by the people who are into my stuff. They would have rather basically punished me instead of defending themselves.” 

Rosenberg claimed that within 24 hours of January 6, there were “200 to 300 articles that went out claiming I was at the scene [of the riots]. To this day, there haven’t been any retractions. I haven’t been able to state my case. They know they were wrong. The people that reported it were being very irresponsible.” 

One media outlet, Fox News, gave Pink a platform. He went on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on January 14 to defend himself while wearing a large Star of David necklace. 

“It didn’t improve things [to go on Tucker],” he said. “It didn’t make things worse. I think I was left with very little options at that point.”

What hurt Pink the most was that the people closest to him “went running for the hills. They didn’t bother to call or check in to hear the story from my perspective.”

When he was canceled, what hurt Pink the most was that the people closest to him “went running for the hills. They didn’t bother to call or check in to hear the story from my perspective. They didn’t want to get roped into it. And that’s where it stands to this day. I haven’t spoken to the label or my friends who just believe I got radicalized and should do some soul-searching.” 

Pink – who has been dubbed the “godfather of chillwave” and a “lo-fi legend” – had previously experienced his fair share of success in the indie music world over a career spanning more than two decades. His most popular song on Spotify, “Baby,” has more than 46 million plays, he’s performed around the world and has appeared on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.”

He’s never played by the rules when it comes to his public image, though. Prior to the Trump debacle, Pink had a reputation for saying controversial things, perhaps to troll the media he’s always resented. He once claimed that Grimes and Madonna wanted to collaborate with him – which they both denied. He voiced support for Westboro Baptist Church “because they’re free-speech advocates” and he told the Guardian that “the media lies to us all the time, and we always believe the media.” 

Pink is a bit of an anomaly in the music world, too. He was self-taught, and started making music while he was a student at Beverly Hills High School and living at his dad’s house. He’d go into the garage with a bass guitar, an amp and kitchen utensils like cheese graters, and tape his songs on a miniature cassette recorder. 

“I learned how to play music and record at the same time. It’s all captured on tape,” he said. “I didn’t have any discernible talent, but when you’re playing rock and roll, you don’t need that. I was more of a frontman anyway. That was my approach to things.” 

What followed was a prolific career, with Pink making a dozen studio albums between 1999 and 2017 as well as releasing compilations like “Odditties Sodomies Vol. 3,” an older recording he put out on Spotify this year. 

“The mark I left has already been internalized by the greater culture, whether people know it or not,” he said. “There are lots of artists that have become way more popular than I have who took my influence and incorporated it into their music. They have lots of fans who have become new musicians in that time, too. I have that legacy status, although I don’t really have much to show for it these days.”

Still, Pink insisted that he’s not a morose person, and he’s remained positive during the past year – especially with the arrival of a now four-month old baby. “At my age, getting to experience this, I feel like I lucked out,” he said. 

Though Pink is not a practicing Jew, he said he should “definitely attend more Shabboses than I do.” He went to Temple Emanuel for day school and proudly posts his Star of David necklace online. Some of the worst parts of his past year have included the antisemitism he’s experienced via direct messages on social media.

“It’s coming from one side, and it’s not coming from the right, the side you would expect,” he said. “You could argue whether it’s antisemitism or anti-Zionist stuff, but I’m not going to try and defend or explain away what people’s motivations are.”

In the immediate aftermath of January 6, Pink left Twitter and went silent online. However, he came back and is determined to stay on and continue defending himself. 

“That’s been the goal, to force me offline, and they failed to do that,” he said. “I will be down their throat and taking them to task.”

Looking forward, he’s reflecting on the upsides of going independent and preparing to release a new album.

Looking forward, he’s reflecting on the upsides of going independent and preparing to release a new album. “I’ve taken quite a big hit by going indie and I’m sure that my reach will be much more limited now. But on the flip side, I will be getting paid for everything and there is no middle man.”

He added, “Hopefully in the next year, I’ll be on tour supporting my record that will be a smash hit.”