The Confederate Koda: An Open Letter to Yuga Labs

Yuga Labs didn't "change" a Confederate reference in their new collection until *after* I confronted the founder and pressured their media rep. I have four demands for the Bored Ape founders.

Left to right: the Bored Ape Yacht Club logo; the Nazi totenkopf alleged to resemble the BAYC logo; a modern flag combining the totenkopf with Confederate imagery (displayed by white supremacists)

Dear Wylie, Greg, Nicole, Kerem, and Zeshan,

Yuga Labs CEO Nicole Muniz said in a February interview that the “idea that we’re Neo-Nazis or alt-right is offensive” and “totally untrue.” Not only did we learn after her interview that two founders are well-connected to an “alt-write” publisher – related evidence of which someone attempted to conceal or destroy – but two months after Nicole’s statement, your company went and included a Confederate reference in their newest collection.

This was a reference to an enslaver whose cultural legacy was recently a rallying point for white supremacist Neo-Nazis. A rallying point that ended with a Neo-Nazi taking the life of a woman who was exercising her free speech to fight white supremacy. And you used the name of that exact Confederate general for one of the most treasured and valuable assets. In my perspective, the Confederate Koda was the metaverse equivalent of a Confederate statue – a totally wild concept given that the real life statue of Stonewall Jackson that helped spur said hate crime was taken down less than one year before you decided to honor him in your video game asset.

The Charlottesville statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was removed in July of 2021, almost 4 years after a neo-Nazi murdered Heather Heyer in a white supremacist terrorist attack. White supremacists and the alt-right had gathered in Charlottesville to protest the removal of Confederate monuments.

I feel defrauded as an investor and deeply offended as a human being. At best, you did not take the allegations seriously enough to ensure that you were not including racist allusions in your products. If I knew that the collection would include a Confederate reference, I would have used my money elsewhere. 

Your decision to include an allusion to a Confederate general and enslaver in such a critical element of your collection after receiving serious accusations is compounded by the fact that you did nothing for months to address the issue. Your company was effectively silent. My June article circulated by Wylie Aronow and Guy Oseary identified “Stone Hole Jackson” as a bothersome, potentially “alt-right” signal. Twitter user @xPeaceLandBread wrote the most popular response to the Otherside’s May 1st tweet, which highlighted the Koda’s connection to the Confederate general. You knew it bothered me. You knew it bothered others. Despite discussing the matter internally, you did not act until after I confronted Wylie over the phone and later followed up with your media management representative. Even afterwards, you did not address the issue with sufficient honesty nor transparency. 

At the time of writing, this response from Twitter user @xPeaceLandBread observing the connection between the Koda’s name and Stonewall Jackson has 41 retweets and 132 likes. This response received the most interactions.

These violations require a level of accountability and ownership that has been neglected by your corporation. I have four demands:

1. Immediately commit to changing the Bored Ape Yacht Club logo. You have resisted changing an element that stirs memories of genocide for many people. Citing intention is not an acceptable response here. Whatever you intended, people have repeatedly expressed hurt around the striking similarity that your logo bears to well-known Nazi imagery. Now that you have also dipped your toes into a Confederate allusion, it is especially disturbing that this particular fascist iconography also has a recent history of mixing with Confederate symbolism (as noted above). When I published my first piece back in June, I wrote that “the logo should be changed as soon as possible regardless of whatever original intention.” Many others requested the same long before I did. It is not unusual for corporations to change their logos. Change the logo ASAP.

2. Transparently release communications around the Confederate Koda. According to Wylie’s recollection, there was a “conversation” about changing the name of the Confederate Koda. Can you share this conversation with dated timestamps? Wylie later wrote to me after our call that he “found out the team was already planning on changing the stone hole variable.” Can you provide the conversation that caused the team to change their minds after keeping the Confederate Koda untouched for almost 3 months? That will allow community members to understand the rationale behind your actions and inactions as a company.

3. Fully alter the Koda named after Stonewall Jackson to completely eliminate the Confederate reference. It is reprehensible that you have resisted removing the “Stonewall” double entendre, as “Stone Holes” essentially retains the reference to the Confederate general. You could have chosen any other name. “Stone Holes” makes it appear that you are doubling down on your reference. It is embarrassing enough that you quietly made the change without full transparency to the community. The least you can do now is remove the Confederate reference completely. 

4. Demonstrate verifiably that the Confederate Koda was randomly generated on Plot #0. Please provide evidence to demonstrate that the Confederate Koda was randomly placed at Plot #0 owned by the co-founder, rather than intentionally included in the first Otherdeed. I am not saying this was done purposely, but I am saying it would be unfathomable to learn that this element was deliberately placed to be minted by a founder in the first ever Otherside plot. Please disqualify this possibility by demonstrating that this occurrence was provably random and minted in a tamper-proof manner.

Nicole said that the community should judge the founders “based off of our actions.” What am I supposed to understand about the founders based off of their actions (and inaction) around the Confederate Koda? What should I feel? A tingle on my neck?

It is shameful that the universe you are designing will forever bear the stain of a man who enslaved people and fought to defend the institution of slavery in America. I hope you can take the minimal steps to address this issue.

~ Wave

P.S.: Educate yourself about Mutulu Shakur and sign the petition to request executive clemency based on compassionate release. The Bureau of Prison’s doctors gave Dr. Shakur less than six months to live. He should spend his final days outside the confines of prison.