When Steven Universe was coming out there was an art book. In it there was a drawing of a very stereotypically black coded gem named Concrete. This wasnât a real character in the show, it was a rough exploratory sketch made by one of the artists who worked on the show. It was included to show the progression of how gem designs are made.
Despite the entire series being extremely LGBT+ positive and diverse, âfansâ of the series quickly latched onto this design as being âanti-blackâ and accused Rebecca Sugar of being a racist. Rebecca Sugar who is a nonbinary Jewish artist married to a black man. The outrage got so big that in subsequent versions of the art book the sketch was removed, and many of the artists who worked on the show apologized for Concreteâs design.
I wanna remind you that Concrete never shows up in the series. The âfansâ were outraged over a sketch in an art book and denounced Rebecca Sugar (who didnât even draw the sketch) as being a horrible horrible racist!
I find that when these types of outrages happen, thereâs usually something more happening under the surface. Why would someone accuse a person as openly supportive of minorities and queer people as Rebecca Sugar of being a Nazi or anti-black?
This was around 2016-2017. The first Trump administration. The rise of MAGA anti-intellectualism, and authoritarianism. Anyone who was seen as even a little bit progressive became a target. And unfortunately, because liberals like to give the benefit of a doubt, the plausible racist implications of Concreteâs design made it easy for everyone to jump on the hate bandwagon. If you defended Rebecca Sugar, you were labeled a Nazi or anti-black.
Iâm not saying if youâre black you shouldnât be offended. Iâm not saying that if youâre black you donât have a right to be upset. Concreteâs design really wasnât very good and yeah, it did look a little racist. Youâre not wrong for that.
But the SIZE of the outrage, over a non-existent character in a kids cartoon, blaming a Jewish non-binary person who is married to a black man, during a time when authoritarianism was on the rise? It FEELS a little targeted, doesnât it?
One of the things liberals do that republicans and conservatives donât is they are more than willing to ostracize anyone who is even perceived as a little bit problematic. This is normally a healthy behavior, but it can also be weaponized against us by targeting prominent progressives in our groups. Trump and his MAGA base are allowed to say the most vile and racist shit on a daily basis, but someone in a liberal space who has been an ally for decades does something even remotely questionable? GET RID OF THEM!
Iâve seen this happen time and time again. And each time it makes it easier for the authoritarians and literal actual Nazis to make ground into our communities and spaces.
And just look at whatâs happening in TADC fandom right now. Someone dug up some old non-existent âcontroversyâ from 7 years ago, made a big deal about it, and now an incredibly successful Trans woman who made probably one of the most important indie animations in recent memory is being ostracized from our community and blamed as being a racist.
As a liberal Jewish queer woman, I am begging you all to stop jumping on these reactionary outrage bandwagons. Donât just take peopleâs words for it, actually do the research yourself, and come to your own conclusions.
And also compare and contrast? Is the existence of Concrete in an art book REALLY as offensive as the shit Trump and his cronies do every day? Is it worth bullying and harassing someone who made one of the most progressive and inclusive animated kids shows in history while real authoritarians and Nazis roam our streets and kidnap and deport minorities and women and children?
Look at when these attacks are happening, ask yourself âwhy suddenly after several years of no issue did the TADC fandom suddenly turn on Gooseworx?â Could it be because the signs of Jaxâs transness were becoming clearer and maybe a lot of people didnât want one of the biggest most successful indie shows that was getting a theatrical release to have trans representation?
You need to have the awareness to be able to stop, think about whatâs going on in the world, look at who is being targeted, and ask yourself WHY.
Is it REALLY because theyâre actually anti-black?
Or is it because this is 2026, the second year of the second Trump administration, anti-LGBT+ sentiment is on the rise, and Gooseworx is one of the most prominent trans creators online with a show that influences MILLIONS of people around the globe?
If your goal as an authoritarian supporter is to get rid of any positive lgbtq+ content or creator, who would you target first?
