System of a Down Drummer Estimates Fans Lost Due to His Opinions

In a post this week on Instagram, System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan estimated how many fans he’d lost over what he calls his “unwillingness to accept the narratives they are now questioning the validity of.”

He also said he lost friends because of it.

The catalyst for that loss which the musician appeared to be referencing was his pattern of outspoken political opinions surrounding his support of former President Donald Trump.

Dolmayan has publicly advanced several far-right political positions, specifically ones that prop up Trump. In the past, the System of a Down drummer called Trump “the greatest friend to minorities,” labeled liberals as cowards and decried the idea of “cancel culture.”

READ MORE: 15 Rockers Who’ve Spoken Out About Cancel Culture

Now, Dolmayan seemed to weigh his decisions in light of the people he “thought were friends” in his life, and what he estimated as a loss of hundreds of thousands of fans, as Blabbermouth reported.

“I lost people that I thought were friends over the last few years primarily due to my unwillingness to accept the narratives they are now questioning the validity of,” the drummer writes, not mentioning Trump specifically but alluding to the polarizing nature of his past remarks.

John Dolmayan Post – Oct. 22, 2023

“Not to mention hundreds of thousands of fans who couldn’t handle my opinions here on Instagram,” Dolmayan continues. “When you endeavor to help those in peril or guide those [who] are being duped, sometimes you lose because of it. You do it anyway.”

In the caption, perhaps pointing to Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, the musician added, “And I’ll do it again.”

Though the members of System of a Down may have “frustrating” differences of opinion, it hasn’t stopped them from performing in concert. However, the band hasn’t released a new studio album in nearly a decade.

System of a Down co-headline Sick New World 2024 in Las Vegas this spring alongside Slipknot.

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