Racist NFT Collection Turns George Floyd’s Image Into Offensive Caricatures
Image via bgrocker / Shutterstock.com
Non-fungible tokens co-opting the image of the late George Floyd recently launched on popular platform OpenSea this month, prompting backlash from many who think the “artworks” are overtly racist caricatures.
Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, had set off Black Lives Matter protests all over the country, highlighting the deep-seated issues of racism in the criminal justice system. The police officer who killed Floyd, Derek Chauvin, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in jail this year.
According to Input, half of the 22-drawing collection has been sold to date, rounding up to about US$5,000 in sales. The pixel art, which appears to be crudely drawn and unartistic, portrayed Floyd with bloodshot eyes and as deprecating images, including one of him in a police uniform and another with a halo above his head. The former artwork has a bid of US$800 at the moment, with other drawings in the collection going for less.
“Floydies are a unique and progressive way to celebrate the monumental life of George Floyd,” the project’s description read.
“George Floyd was a victim of racism and has since become an inspiration to the BLM movement, as well as to those who stand for equality. Owning a Floydie is a great way to express yourself and your beliefs!”
There’s no doubt the creators of Floydies knew they were instigating outrage when creating the collection. In fact, the disrespectful depictions of Floyd were released just a week before Chauvin reversed his not-guilty plea on the charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights, propelling the case back into the headlines.
Many in the NFT community have rallied against Floydies, which they believe is a thinly-veiled attempt to pass off racist artworks as a kind of social movement.
“Most of the crypto space, and NFT by consequence, is an absolute garbage fire right now. In an age where smart contracts exist, part of the proceeds from these sales could be going to Black Lives Matter non-profits or the family of the victim,” Marcello Lins, a software engineer at Square, told Input.
“Neither is present here, unsurprisingly. This project was never meant to help anyone but its own creators, despite it claiming to be just the opposite,” he added.
Despite the outrage, the creators of Floydies don’t seem to have gotten the message that their collection doesn’t have any place in the NFT scene.
Sadly, it appears they have already attempted to capitalize on the controversy, releasing a “special-edition Floydie” of Floyd merged with the ‘Chungus’ meme in yet another disrespectful work.
“I find this project extremely offensive, and a clear cash grab, organized by someone trying to flip controversy into profit. I can only hope people see through it, so we can all put this behind us, and start having more productive conversations about what NFTs can really be used for,” said Lins.
All first edition Floydies have been sold! Thankyou for a successful launch of our activism platform!
— FloydiesNFT (@FloydiesNFT) December 14, 2021
Don't worry if you didn't manage to get a Floydie, the brand new second edition Floydie line has just dropped!https://t.co/bwF81RQPco#blm #Crypto #nft #nfts #NFTCommunity pic.twitter.com/hkjIVit8yG
[via Input, cover image via bgrocker / Shutterstock.com]
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