Just days after copping heat for their controversial concert poster design which featured the rotting corpse of US President Donald Trump, Pearl Jam have responded to those who have criticised the band’s decision to use the artwork.
On Wednesday, we noted how Pearl Jam’s recent show in Missoula, Montana on August 13th featured a poster which was deemed to be rather controversial.
Never ones to shy away from their outspoken political views, the poster depicted the White House in flames, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial cracked and broken, and the skeletal body of Donald Trump, which is being picked over by a bald eagle.
The poster’s message was also incredibly clear, with flames spelling out the word ‘vote’, while also including images of other US senators, including Jon Tester and Republican challenger Matt Rosendale.
While many fans raised concerns about just what Pearl Jam were trying to accomplish and say with this poster, others – including a spokesperson for Rosendale – were a little bit more vocal about the band’s politics.
“The depiction of the skeletal remains of President Trump and a burning White House is reprehensible and shows just how completely unhinged and radicalized the far-left has become,” a spokesperson for Rosendale explained.
“This poster from Pearl Jam is disgusting and reprehensible,” he continued on Twitter. “It depicts a dead President Trump and a burning White House. It’s time for [Jon Tester] to denounce this act of violence and blatant display of extremism!”
Now, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament – who was responsible for the poster’s design alongside artist ‘Bobby Draws Skullz’ – has responded to critics of the band’s political stance.
“The role of artists is to make people think and feel, and the current administration has us thinking and feeling,” Ament explained to Rolling Stone. “I was the sole conceptualist of this poster, and I welcome all interpretations and discourse. Love, from the First Amendment, Jeff Ament.”
Physical copies of the poster are also adorned with a note from Ament on the rear, explaining his motivations behind the artwork. “Y’all know the deal,” the message reads. “We’re at a tipping point, and it’s time for action.”
Needless to say, this looks as though it’ll just be remembered as another chapter in the history of Pearl Jam’s outspoken political activism.
Earlier this year, the group released their first new song in five years. Titled ‘Can’t Deny Me’, the track is a rather overt political track that takes aim at Donald Trump with lyrics like “You may be rich but you can’t deny me/got nothing but the will to survive,” and “The country you are representing/condition critical.”
In the last couple of months though, the group upped the ante, dedicating a performance of their song ‘Love Boat Captain’ to the US President’s zero-tolerance immigration policy, while Eddie Vedder’s wife also took aim at Melania Trump’s insensitive fashion choices.