In the wake of the Art Gobblers fiasco sweeping NFT Twitter, the community has dug deeper to uncover creator Justin Roilands past. There is hopeless confusion and outrage allegedly on the grounds of Justin’s imagery on a previous project. So what happened, exactly? Why are other influencers also catching flak from the Art Gobblers Community and its naysayers? Read on to find out!
What Is The Controversy Surrounding Justin Roiland & Art Gobblers?
The Art Gobblers have been the talk of almost the entire NFT Twitter community since mint day. Selling out just hours after launch, the project came under the radar with insider trading and market manipulation. Crypto Twitter is currently having a field day with the project. The community is mainly divided between whether it is an easy rug pull or an over-the-top marketing success. But matters started to move entirely differently when an NFT influencer proclaimed his marketing tactic for the allowlist spot.
@Andr3w, one of web3’s top-followed and widely recognized names, supported his grind into the Art Gobblers free mint. @andr3w doxxed his Art Gobbler Twitter account, going by ‘Balthazar Crumps,’ a 13-year-old enthusiastic about drawing. In the heat of the Twitter clash, users started throwing dirt on his name, even accusing him of pedophilia. This led to users delving even deeper into the project and, by extension, Justin Roiland’s past, and that’s where things get really dark.
A few collectors dug into some of Justin’s previously released media and found a disturbing clip. In one of the archived episodes on his website, the protagonist (a weirdly shaped potato?) recalls a story of two drowning children. In the story, there are obscene borderline child abuse portrayals. Other users also uncovered similar episodes with underlying child torture and abuse themes.
The Thin Line
Justin Roiland is the creator of the hit animated series Rick & Morty. His comedic brilliance and storytelling skill is exemplary among other creators. But in light of recently uncovered videos, the age-old debate of “What Exactly Is Comedy?” is being questioned again. Should the NFT space allow a massive creator like Justin Roiland to engage with its tech? Or will it shun the comedic angle completely by censoring itself from any creative/artistic expression?
Viewers of the popular animated show are unaware that it is based on “Doc & Mharti,” “Unbelievable Tales,” and other previous JR titles. These shows have also had a recurring theme based around pedophilia and even had a pedophilic character. In its entirety, for the Art Gobblers team to have allowed one of its influencers to pursue a marketing gimmick by donning the disguise of a 13-year-old is now a complicated issue.
While we are unaware if any of the accusations surrounding Justin Roiland are accurate, we can’t deny the obvious elephant in the room. Should an NFT project allow the imagery and likeness of children to (in any way or form) make sexually suggestive jokes? This applies to the Art Gobblers team and even its influencers. Although we must also note there are multiple nuances between the different stances of the Art Gobbler community. In conclusion, we look forward to a deeper investigation of the matter and are keeping ourselves updated on the latest riff.
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