- Elijah Wood, known for his role as Frodo Baggins in the Lord of The Rings trilogy, is an avid NFT collector.
- The actor has invested in Jungle Freaks NFTs.
- Elijah Wood denounces the NFT project amid allegations of racism.
The NFT market is a mysterious place, and Elijah Wood has experienced this with his own eyes. NFTs are not always what they seem to be, and an artist’s identity is often a gray area. According to a Twitter post by Elijah Wood, the actor has denounced the Jungle Freaks NFT collection due to the author’s previous racist artistic judgments.
Elijah Denounces NFT Over Claims of Racism.
Elijah Wood, the main protagonist in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and an avid NFT investor, was caught in the middle of some crypto drama after investing in Jungle Freaks NFTs. The issue? Crypto Twitter revealed the author’s past racially charged cartoons.
Sponsored
George Trosley, the NFTsโ project designer, is a famous cartoonist who worked for Hustler magazine in the 70s – nothing wrong there. However, on Monday, crypto Twitter revealed a number of cartoons belonging to Trosley, allegedly depicting racist appearances.
As a result, Elijah Wood deleted his initial tweet regarding the collection, following it up with a statement, condemning “any form of racism.” Moreover, Wood also sold his NFTs, unknown as of yet, if for a profit or not, and stated that all generated funds will be donated to the “LDF and Black Lives Matter.”
On The Flipside
- Cartoons are a paradoxical way of highlighting existing societal issues.
The Normal Response
When the initial cartoons were created, racism was a bigger, more common issue than in 21st-century society. In response to the allegations, Jungle Freaks issued a statement, claiming that “the Trosley Family does not support or condone racism.”
According to data from OpenSea, the price of NFTs decreased by more than 65%, from an average selling price of 1.35 ETH, to 0.3 ETH. However, Reddit investors are not entirely backing the drama that unfolded following the release of Trosley images.
One Reddit user, Empltyzed81, highlighted that the work a person made 50-years ago should not impact one’s investment. Wood’s statement has proven detrimental to the entire project and saw many investors lose a lot of money following his statement against racism.
Why You Should Care?
NFT prices can fluctuate greatly based on evidence and news given by important personalities. The same is similarly true for blockchain projects whose creators are known quantities.