Ariel Pink Accused of Sexual Misconduct and Physical Abuse

Musician Ariel Pink’s request for civil harassment restraining orders against his ex-girlfriend and former bandmate Charlotte Ercoli Coe have been “stricken and dismissed” by Los Angeles County Superior Court Commissioner Laura Cohen, who found that Coe’s allegations of assault against Pink were “Constitutionally-protected activities” and not harassment, Pitchfork reports. The decision was made on January 6, the same day Ariel Pink attended Wednesday’s domestic terrorist attack on the nation’s Capitol by Trump supporters and election conspiracy mongers.

In August of last year, Ariel Pink (real name Ariel Rosenberg) filed civil harassment restraining orders against Coe, claiming she harassed him by “falsely claiming he was a sexual ‘predator’ and falsely claiming to mutual friends and to [Pink] that he committed sexual offenses almost three years ago for which she has threatened to report [Pink] to police authorities” and “attempted to blackmail him with false allegations of sexual misconduct to his record label and financial supporters, to the media, including Pitchfork and Variety, and to the general public.” He requested the orders prohibit Coe from speaking to the media and require her to pay for his legal fees.

In October, Coe filed to strike the restraining orders and made allegations of her own: that Pink “physically and mentally abused [her] during [their] relationship,” “bullied [her] into [having] unprotected sex with him,” causing her to be “infected with herpes after [the two] had unprotected sex,” “illegally distributed naked pictures” of her and that he “physically attacked” her on stage in 2017.

Robin Coe Hutshing, Coe’s aunt, also provided the following text message she allegedly received from Pink on July 9, 2018: “i fucked up with charlie on dozens of fronts and deserve what i got as a consequence. i gave her herpes (kills me more than anythng [sic]) and that alone would have been grounds enough for a break up. i flirted w people online, thinking it harmless, and that it wouldn’t get back to her- i even sent private nude pics of charlie like a fucking idiot, convincing myself that it wasn’t inappropriate because i was ‘bragging’ about how hot my gf was.”

Ariel Pink denied the allegations and text message the following month, stating that Coe’s “wrongful conduct… continues to threaten and harm [him] during these very difficult times.”

Consider that language next to what Coe wrote in her declaration:

“I began dating [Pink] in 2015, when I was 19 and [Pink] was 38. It was a tumultuous relationship, characterized by a power imbalance: [Pink] was 19 years older than me; [Pink] was famous, and I was not; [Pink] was established in the music business, while I was just beginning my music career… Feeling empowered by the #MeToo movement, in July 2020, I finally found the strength to call out [Pink]’s abuse. On Twitter, I explained that I was afraid to speak out for so long, but I felt compelled to tell my followers that [Pink] is, in fact, an abuser.”