Bands Featured on Adult Swim’s Cancelled “Million Dollar Extreme” Disavow Show

Adult Swim recently cancelled “Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace” after one season. The controversial sketch comedy show had gained a reputation for promoting racist, sexist, and bigoted viewpoints and symbolism. (Its creator, Sam Hyde, is an outspoken member of the so-called “alt-right,” a movement that embraces an ideology of white nationalism.) Before its cancellation, the show featured music by many artists, including John Maus, Molly Nilsson, Chastity Belt, Ovlov, 3TEETH, and Danny L. Harle. Maus even made a bizarre appearance on the show, soundtracked by his Molly Nilsson collaboration “Hey Moon.” 

Pitchfork has reached out to Maus and his representatives for comment.

Molly Nilsson wrote to Pitchfork that she was unfamiliar with “Million Dollar Extreme” when she was contacted about the use of their song. “Obviously I should have done a better job looking into what the context was and its values rather than to trust an offer because it seemed ‘serious,’” she wrote. She continued:

I’m not trying to make excuses but maybe explain that it is sometimes hard to know what [the] sender is beforehand. I’m happy this was disclosed and glad it has now been cancelled. I take this very seriously and will use this opportunity to better my research when it comes to syncing requests. I would never want any song of mine featured in a context of racism, sexism, homophobia or bigotry. It should be clear that the so called “alt-right” are nothing but neo-Nazis in suits.

One episode ended with the Chastity Belt song “Drone.” In a Facebook post, Chastity Belt wrote that they “are appalled by the way MDE has used satire and it has caused us to seriously reflect on how humor is used as a tool of oppression.” They said they “knew nothing” about “Million Dollar Extreme” when they agreed to license their song. Read the full statement here:

Another episode featured an appearance from the Los Angeles-based industrial band 3TEETH. Alexis Mincolla provided the following statement to Pitchfork:

My band’s message is largely predicated on disrupting all forms of physical and psychic oppression, and when I was first shown the pilot for MDE’s World Peace in the Winter of 2015, I thought it was hilarious. Was it offensive? Sure, but I certainly didn’t pick up on any right leaning politics or overt racism. What I did see was some clever cognitive dissonance that I knew was going to create some serious discomfort for network television viewers and when they asked us to do a musical appearance on the show it felt like a fun opportunity. 

When we agreed to do it I knew nothing of these alleged alt-right politics. Having known that at the time, whether it be true or some elaborate joke, I would have passed because I believe the semantic toxicity becomes one in the same with that group and I stand firmly against their ideologies.

The Connecticut indie band Ovlov, who also appeared on the show, posted the following on their Facebook page:

Pitchfork has also reached out to Danny L. Harle and his representatives. Adult Swim did not offer any additional comment on the cancellation.

Comments are closed.