A man in a banana costume has sparked discourse after Akil Godsey, frontman of the Baltimore hardcore band End It, instructed the audience to remove his outfit during a recent show.
The incident occurred at the Lithuanian House in Toronto on Friday (June 5). Godsey called the man in the banana costume up to the front of the stage, asking him, “Fuck are you doing, my n****?”
“You don't get rewarded for doing that shit,” he continued. “He wanted the attention, and now he has it.”
Someone else in the band can be heard chiming in, “And now, everyone here has to kill you.”
Godsey offered End It’s setlist as a prize if someone could “strip the banana.” The costume was quickly removed.
The person in the banana costume, who goes by Scott, took to his Instagram account to speak about the incident the following day with a photo of him in the costume.
“Two of your band members crossed the line...and I'm obligated to speak on it,” he wrote.
Prior to their performance of “21,” Godsey rattled off a few declarations, including, “Fuck the police,” to which Scott referenced, asking, “While policing what people wear?”
“I was an unwilling participant, attacked and clothing removed at the direction of a band I paid to see... What would you do?” he wrote.
“The message last night; Conform or get called out, exactly the opposite of what Hardcore is supposed to be,” he wrote.
The opinion has been split (no pun intended) over who was in the right, with some calling the costume attention-seeking.
