Do you remember the great Banana Man controversy of summer 2026? At the Baltimore hardcore band End It’s Toronto show in early June, frontman Akil Godsey called out a guy in the pit for “[wanting] attention” with his banana costume. "You don't get rewarded for doing that shit," he told the crowd. "He wanted the attention, and now he has it." Godsey offered the setlist to whoever stripped off the costume.
“People have been trying to dim my sparkle my entire life,” a distraught Banana Man wrote on Instagram after. “I was an unwilling participant, attacked and clothing removed at the direction of a band I paid to see.” Tons of online commenters, many of whom had never heard of End It or been to a hardcore show, had strong opinions about the incident.
Godsey became the target of racism and death threats before addressing the situation on his own Instagram. “We’re a hardcore band,” he explained. “We do hardcore things.”
Finally, three weeks after the incident, End It called a truce with banana-costumed concertgoers when Godsey hugged it out with a different Banana Man at Jera On Air. He was also handed a banana that he promptly tossed into the crowd. “Who woulda thought doing something stupid at a show would get me a month of attention?” Godsey said.
Now the great End It Vs. Banana Man Feud Of 2026 has our attention again. Yesterday Godsey showed off new No Banana Man ink he got at Baltimore’s Red Thorn Tattoo, posting the reveal on his Instagram Stories. It depicts a running Banana Man cartoon in a "prohibited" symbol. Watch below.
@stereogum ICYMI somehow… At End It’s Toronto show in early June, frontman Akil Godsey called out a guy in the pit for “[wanting] attention” with his banana costume. He offered the setlist to whoever stripped off the costume. “People have been trying to dim my sparkle my entire life,” a distraught Banana Man wrote on Instagram after. “I was an unwilling participant, attacked and clothing removed at the direction of a band I paid to see.” Godsey then became the target of racism and death threats before addressing the situation on his own Instagram. “We’re a hardcore band,” he explained. “We do hardcore things.” Finally, three weeks after the incident, End It called a truce with banana-costumed concertgoers when Godsey hugged it out with a different Banana Man at Jera On Air. “Who woulda thought doing something stupid at a show would get me a month of attention?” he said. Now the great End It Vs. Banana Man Feud Of 2026 has our attention again. Today Godsey showed off new No Banana Man ink he got at Baltimore’s Red Thorn Tattoo. The end?
♬ original sound - Dai Tan Films - Dai Tan Films
The end?
