NFT Project Endorsed by Elijah Wood in Disarray Over Artist’s 'Racist' Drawings

[Tamsialu$$]

Elijah Wood initially gave his blessing to Jungle Freaks, launched by a former Hustler cartoonist. Then racially charged cartoons from the 1970s came to light. NFT project Jungle Freaks fell into disarray yesterday after “racist” cartoons drawn by the project’s artist in the 1970s resurfaced, leading many high-profile investors to abandon the project—while others dismissed the controversy as a case of “cancel culture” gone wrong.
Jungle Freaks is a father-and-son project that consists of 10,000 zombie NFTs drawn by George Trosley, a former cartoonist for Hustler. The celebrity endorsement was a curse in disguise for the project as it brought scrutiny from the wider public that put the spotlight on these cartoons, leading Wood to sell all his NFTs on Sunday with the proceeds donated to charities. Wood’s fallout with the project has led to a larger selloff, plummeting the project’s floor price by 94% from 1.3 ETH ($5,614) to 0.29 ETH ($1,252) today. That’s still up 314% from the initial mint price of 0.07 ETH ($302).more

[Mayajal]

Elijah Wood initially gave his blessing to Jungle Freaks, launched by a former Hustler cartoonist. Then racially charged cartoons from the 1970s came to light. NFT project Jungle Freaks fell into disarray yesterday after “racist” cartoons drawn by the project’s artist in the 1970s resurfaced, leading many high-profile investors to abandon the project—while others dismissed the controversy as a case of “cancel culture” gone wrong.
Jungle Freaks is a father-and-son project that consists of 10,000 zombie NFTs drawn by George Trosley, a former cartoonist for Hustler. The celebrity endorsement was a curse in disguise for the project as it brought scrutiny from the wider public that put the spotlight on these cartoons, leading Wood to sell all his NFTs on Sunday with the proceeds donated to charities. Wood’s fallout with the project has led to a larger selloff, plummeting the project’s floor price by 94% from 1.3 ETH ($5,614) to 0.29 ETH ($1,252) today. That’s still up 314% from the initial mint price of 0.07 ETH ($302).more

I’m actually glad Hockney hasn’t moved into this realm, and thankful for his staunch perspective. It serves as an important reminder: NFTs and digital art are not synonymous. In fact, it’s time we start separating NFTs from digital art.