One of the biggest and most controversial stories of the year in rock is the banana man incident that happened in Toronto a couple weeks ago on the final night of hardcore band End It's tour.

There are bands who don't mind audience members dressing up in goofy costumes, and then there are members of the hardcore community in particular who find that sort of thing distracting and disrespectful. End It frontman Akil Godsey, seemingly in the latter camp, called a showgoer in a banana costume up to the front during the set and addressed him: "Banana guy, come to the front. Fuck are you doing, my n***a? No no no no no. You don't get rewarded for doing that shit. He wanted the attention, and now he has it."

End It's bass player chimed in, "and now everyone here has to kill you." Akil then offered a copy of the band's setlist that night to anyone who would "strip the banana... I'm just saying! You was asking for attention, now you got it!"

Being a hardcore show, they peeled the banana quickly, and a poster on the r/hardcore subreddit reported, "I saw banana guy outside between sets. Poor dude was sulking, Said he was beat up and sore. He said he was more sad about not having the costume anymore [shrugging emoji]." On Instagram, the guy posted: "People have been trying to dim my sparkle my entire life... I was an unwilling participant, attacked and clothing removed at the direction of a band I paid to see… What would you do?"

The incident and surrounding discourse went viral over the last couple weeks, with predominantly hardcore showgoers defending the band and claiming "banana men" have main character syndrome and knowingly antagonized the particular environment of hardcore shows. Others have supported the banana guy, considering the band to have incited assault on him and claiming the idea that he asked for it because of what he wore echoes the logic of rape apologists. Anthony Fantano weighed in with his own take below.

But Godsey himself has only just commented on the ensuing controversy today in a video on his Instagram, claiming to be the target of racism and death threats since then. Here's what he said:

"The funniest thing to come out of all this is people telling me they were disappointed in me when the first song I ever wrote for this band is called "Give Up," which is where I instruct people to walk into the woods and commit suicide. You've obviously not been listening to the band, and I don't know what the fuck you thought was going on over here. We're a hardcore band. We do hardcore things. You don't have to come over here. You don't have to pay attention to me at fucking all.Everyone in my life loves me very much. I'm very well taken care of. I do not need your attention or validation. I'll be just fine. Hey, if the band gotta quit, so be it. I guess I'll go to work. I'm a fully functioning adult male. I'll be just fine.There's more to life than whatever the fuck you think is going on over here. You don't even know what's going on over here. We haven't spoken in ages. You're living off of assumptions. Don't assume. My parents taught me that. But have fun with the life you've made for yourself."

Watch the video below, which has received likes and supportive comments from Nothing, Thursday's Geoff Rickly, ex-Jesus Piece frontman Aaron Heard, and others.

Aye God on Instagram: “Thanks for the racism and death threats and dissertations. It’s all been very taxing. I’m gonna go raise my child now. Peace.”

13K likes, 1,270 comments - aloneinakil on June 24, 2026: “Thanks for the racism and death threats and dissertations. It’s all been very taxing. I’m gonna go raise my child now. Peace.”.

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