After Outcry, GameStop Pulls Tasteless ‘Falling Man’ NFT Evoking 9/11 Attacks
One could argue that NFTs pushed for respectability from the very beginning, but new controversy over an item listed on GameStop’s new NFT marketplace shows that there is at least one problem that we collectively draw the line on. The platform came under fire for allowing an artist identified as “Jules” to display an NFT that appears to mimic a well-known photograph of a person jumping from one of the World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001, taken by Associated Press hired Richard Drew.
Drew’s photo, which captured mid-air one of about 100 people who jumped from the towers before they fell, crystallized the horror of a day when so many lives were lost in unseen ways. Naturally, finding the photograph appropriated for financial gain on an NFT marketplace was upsetting and irritating to many people. After a public outcry, the post was taken down and the creator was suspended.
Hyperallergic was able to retrieve a screenshot of the original entry using the Wayback Machine. In NFT by Jules, a toy astronaut falls in front of a vertical striped background. “This probably fell from the MIR space station,” the caption reads, a possible reference to Russia’s space station that operated until 2001. The cheapest version of the NFT was listed for 0.65 ETH (~$887 USD) and was bid up to 5 ETH ($6,800 USD) before it was taken down.
Coverage by news channels and scouts in the crypto world brought attention to the issue on Saturday, July 23rd. The website Web3 is Going Just Great pointed out that GameStop’s NFT marketplace is a curated site — meaning the “Falling Man” NFT was vetted and approved for sale. People quickly began reaching out to intimidate the company and demand criticism of NFT and its creator.
ONE screenshot capturing a direct message exchange between an unknown Twitter user and @GameStopNFT indicates that the company is taking the complaints seriously.
“This NFT will be removed from our marketplace entirely,” reads GameStop’s response. The company added that Jules had the embossing removed and has been contacted about the image.
Obviously, artists of all kinds are free to engage with all kinds of subjects, including tragedies. But the problem with “Falling Man” NFT shows that certain subjects remain untouchable, especially for profit, as the late comedian Gilbert Gottfried memorably learned with his early attempt at 9/11 humor. “Too soon,” was the general sentiment at the time, and 20 years later it still seems to be the case.
