Pearl Jam has drawn the ire of conservative politicians this week as the band released a poster for their recent tour stop in Missoula, Montana as reported by Rolling Stone. The poster, designed by bassist Jeff Ament, depicts a burning White House and a corpse of Donald Trump being eaten by a bald eagle, with two massive letters, “P” and “J” flanking the mayhem.
The band posted the drawing on social media on Tuesday with a short note from Ament describing why he made the poster: “Y’all know the deal…We’re at a tipping point, and it’s time for action.” In the note, Ament also called for the reelection of Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester. Unsurprisingly Breitbart News and other conservative news outlets lashed out against the band, claiming that the group crossed the line. Tester’s Republican opponent, Matt Rosendale, also called out Pearl Jam and called for Tester to denounce Pearl Jam for their actions. Tester has yet to respond to the incident.
Pearl Jam are currently on a short tour of the US as they continue to prep a new record for release sometime in the near future. So far, the band has released the firey anti-Trump political anthem “Can’t Deny Me,” earlier this year. Additionally, Pearl Jam recently played a charity concert in their hometown of Seattle and have been active in trying to save the legendary Seattle venue The Showbox Theater from demolition.
You can take a look at the controversial poster and the Twitter commentary from Rosendale below.
This poster from Pearl Jam is disgusting and reprehensible. It depicts a dead President Trump and a burning White House. It’s time for @JonTester to denounce this act of violence and blatant display of extremism! https://t.co/nIKTNPOFxX #MontanaFirst #MAGA #mtsen #mtpol
— Matt Rosendale (@MattForMontana) August 14, 2018
Photo credit Alyssa Fried