Sertralion

So because it seems in the wake of the fucking tragic death of the completely lovely Jack Chapman, (or as Tank as he had been rebranded) there’s a lot of stories coming out about the treatment of Jack from his partner Dylan aka Noodles & Beef. Usually I would never get involved in online drama like this, but this is beyond drama - a good mans life has ended horribly, and I experienced firsthand some highly suspicious and downright unsympathetic behavior from his master/life partner, Dylan at a time when frankly if my life partner had passed away, I’d be inconsolable with grief.

So adding my voice to the chorus for the official record, here’s my account of an exchange I had with Dylan/Noodles yesterday regarding the rumors of Jack’s death with accompanying screenshots.

I have been friends with Jack for a long time and have chatted with Dylan and his other pups on many many occasions. Close enough to them to receive a Christmas card from them last year but not close enough to have met them IRL. That kinda close. Anyway, we heard the terrible news on Monday that a previous employer of Tank had released a letter saying Tank had passed away. Being a friend I was obvs concerned but also knowing the online hate that surrounds those guys - didn’t want to take it as truth immediately. Mutual friends reached out to Dylan’s husband Dan - who assured us all almost immediately that Tank was apparently “fine”. Good news. But a day later the rumors were still around so I reached out to Dylan via Facebook to notify him of these rumors and to suggest to perhaps post a pic of tank happy and healthy to stop the shitty gossip machine. At first Dylan was grossed out and shocked by the news - asking “why is everyone so obsessed with us?!” I said I was happy to hear it wasn’t true and that was it. (Screenshot attached)

An hour later, I get another message from Dylan saying that Tank was actually “rather upset” about the rumours and that he would appreciate I tell him the source of them. (Screenshot attached) When I told him everything I knew and confirmed I couldn’t give him a direct name to follow up with, Dylan became demanding and rude suggesting myself and my friends were spreading the gossip (screenshot attached) and he would let Tank know how awful I am (Screenshot attached) and implied Tank didn’t consider me a friend anymore. (Screenshot attached) Then both noodles and Tank blocked me on all social media. and I considered the dramatic story over.

Two hours later Dylan sent out his oddly delayed newsletter - showing off his modded genitals and rating dance parties and oddly, considering the current rumor about Tank, a joke saying that people were starting rumours about HIS OWN death. (Screenshot attached)

A few hours later, I see the announcement on Facebook - the official statement of Tanks death. And I am gobsmacked. Judging by the timeline of events - the release of the letter from Tank’s ex employers over the weekend (a fact that has since been confirmed direct from the source) - Tank being in hospital and passing away - it would seem Tank passed away sometime over the weekend - 48 hours or more previous to all the above events. Which means instead of Dylan replying to my initial message about the gossip with a confirmation and respectful request for silence on the subject - he was far more concerned with gossip and damage limitation, then lying by pretending to me Tank still alive and was “upset and concerned”, then entering and managing Tanks social media post death to block me, AND encouraging his other pups to lie AND promoting his image via his newsletter whilst making insensitive jokes…it was honestly shocking.

I have never ever witnessed such sociopathic behavior. The loss of a loved one would disable me in every way. This lack of empathy is shocking and it’s for this reason - along with the very public humiliation of Jack in the past from Dylan (that can still be read about here - https://noodlesandreceipts.tumblr.com/) that I am being vocal and posting this in respect for the loss of life of a truly lovely man. This is for the record. The internet never forgets.

THIS is what I have been dealing with on a constant basis for the past six months. 

In December 2017 I was first notified of my [Yin Yang Rats] design being sold unauthorized on the website AliExpress. I wrote a [Journal] at the beginning of the year explaining how difficult and time-consuming it was to remove. Unfortunately, my battle was not over as I have been chasing down thefted and altered versions of my design across the internet ever since.

I cannot even put into words how frustrating and disheartening this kind of thing is. This design is very special to me and I created it with everyone who loves rats in mind. It is an absolute disgrace to my artwork and an insult to me as an artist to see my work stolen, altered and slapped onto products without a second thought as to who made it or what it represents. Instead of being able to create new art, I’ve had to spend all my time and energy in hunting this theft down, writing DMCA Takedown notices, and corresponding with various legal departments. I am absolutely exhausted. My motivation to draw is lost. I’ve had to spend so much energy just to defend myself and the fight is far from over.

Recently, things took an even worse turn. One of the places listed here - MerchVibes on Etsy - submitted a counter-claim to my report of copyright infringement. The only way to proceed is with a court order. I am completely and utterly lost. My art has been stolen, altered, and sold without my permission and now I have to go to court if I want anything to be done about it. I’m looking to register this artwork with a copyright, but since it’s happening after the infringement, I don’t know how much good it will do. I’m also looking into what to do about getting a lawyer, despite having absolutely no money to afford one and no idea who to trust. It’s an utter mess I don’t even have the energy to elaborate on.

I am not the only artist that these places have stolen from. PLEASE let artists know if you recognize their art being used without permission: - AliExpress - MyMerchandise on Amazon - MerchVibes on Etsy - TeeChip - TeeSpring - Octoprintz

I know it is unfair to put the burden of fact-checking on the consumer. You should be able to trust that the products you buy are legitimate. Unfortunately that is far from the truth of things. Please, please scrutinize companies - especially those online - before you buy products with artwork on them. Be suspicious if the store has a wide and conflicting range of art styles and images. Most of these places are even too lazy to crop off the signatures and copyrights of the artists. And please god if you are a tattoo artist or looking to get a tattoo, it is SO easy to ask the artist for permission or even commission a custom one! I put my artwork online so that I can make a living, NOT so you can steal it!

This is legitimately the kind of thing that destroys artists like me. I am losing profits, I am losing time, I am losing motivation and I am losing the will to even create and share my work. I do not get reimbursed for any of these things. I do not get exposure. This problem does not go away. I do not get to “win” anything. I will probably be dealing with this for the rest of my artistic career.

If I want to continue to put up a fight against intellectual property theft, it is likely going to get expensive. I don’t want to resort to begging, but