Ethel Cain defends comments in support of killing CEOs following backlash
Singer-songwriter Ethel Cain has responded to criticism following a social media post she made which featured the hashtag #KillMoreCEOs.
Earlier in January, Cain weighed in on the assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was shot dead in New York by 26-year-old assailant Luigi Mangione. Mangione’s rationale for the murder of Thompson was outlined in a three-page manifesto that he was carrying at the time of his arrest, where he provided his own criticism of the US healthcare system and its flaws.
Cain expressed some shared feelings towards the healthcare system, and in her post, she said that while she didn’t necessarily condone acts of violence, there needed to be more done to challenge those in positions of power and make them fearful of their immoral actions.
“It’s simple,” her original post began. ““You make them fear for their lives and hit them in the only place they hurt or nothing will ever get done.”
Her initial comments sparked backlash, most notably from US media outlet Fox News, who called for a boycott of the singer due to her extremist viewpoint on the topic. Cain has now responded to the uproar with a follow-up post on blog site Tumblr, saying that the corruption that is witnessed within the US healthcare system is not a political debate, comparing it to the issue of global warming.
The post read: “Since when has ‘upholding traditional values’ gone hand in hand with… defending lawmakers and oil tycoons? My family and I complain about the same issues at the dinner table. The men in charge better hope they can keep their digital smokescreens running as long as they can because the moment the rednecks and the hippies lay down their swords long enough to realise they have the same enemy, all hell is gonna break loose.”
Cain released her latest project, the 89-minute ambient drone record Perverts, at the start of 2025. This follows her critically acclaimed debut album Preacher’s Daughter, released in 2022.
Read the full post below.
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