Basile Pesso/Anne Pangolin Guéno/Yes We Are Magazine
I’ll start by thanking the dozen or so individuals who reached out to me over the last few weeks to discuss Basile Pesso and their own unpleasant interactions with him. It has been very interesting, very revealing. As a result, I’ve gained quite an insight into Basile’s hygiene deficient and paranoid world, a reality which consists of strung out, often manic, addiction-fueled behavior that is devoid of irony, humor, or empathy; he exists in both a sad and ugly place, squandering any goodwill extended toward him by others.
Basile would be a pitiable character worthy of compassion if it weren’t for how toxic he becomes to almost everyone that deals with him. There is a predatory, grooming aspect to how he lures people into his web. Over and over again the same story has been related to me. He begins as a huge fan of someone’s photography, heaping praise upon them, and championing their work via private messages and his Yes We Are Magazine public platform; and then, in time, his affability for these people becomes suddenly nasty, turning on them out of the blue if he feels they aren’t loyal to him and him alone.
As one person told me, “I know several people who left Tumblr solely because of [Basile], and this was before the latest Tumblr exodus. I blocked him long ago, but I’m sure he’s still lurking around. I can smell him.”
To be honest, after communicating with the woman Basile lists as his lawyer, I intended to just let the whole thing go (she wants nothing to do with him, and she is certain he is a paranoid schizophrenic). But I have recently been contacted by two individuals who both tell very disturbing personal stories of having been stalked via social media by Basile Pesso and his so-called girlfriend Anne Pangolin Guéno. One of these women has given me permission to post her story of Basile’s harassment and stalking here (as long as her name isn’t mentioned). Both of these women had contacted the Tumblr support about Basile’s stalking and threats, but nothing was ever done.
In any case, before I go public with more disturbing details, I am appealing to anyone else in the Tumblr photographic community who has been harassed by Basile to get in touch. Please contact me and Tumblr about your interactions with him. He is, for the most part, a petty, vengeful man who bounces around social media, doing so under a collection of various aliases and fake accounts. But while Basile is clearly mentally ill, his sexually predatory, homophobic, racist, and toxic behavior should not be tolerated.
Your story is important, and no one should have to feel threatened or scared to post on Tumblr because of Basile Pesso. He is a worm at best. He fantasizes about being the photographic king of social media, which, sadly, is about as meaningful as being Monopoly rich.
