so apparently dave hopkins has a 400+ page hate tumblr

[rodox_video]

i am quite late to the party

Everyone is by now familiar with Hopkins, his awful writing, and his lack of drawing skills. The vast majority of the minor squabbles he's gotten tangled in over the past decade have been utterly forgettable. He's creepy, his comic is creepy, people love him anyway. Par for the course, right? There's no point in raining on that particular parade unless something really bad is happening, is there?

Well, starting in late 2010 someone started a tumblr archive containing the worst of Hopkins's artistic excesses (i.e. all of them and then some), along with all of the re-edits that have been posted to the various chanboards.

Everything goes as normal until March of this year. That is when they find (or decide to reveal) the most explosive dirt. Turns out that Hopkins has had a downright abusive and dangerous relationship with his wife, and it's been toxic since long before they were even married. She called Loveline for some manner of advice back in 2001, and seemingly only now have they managed to dig up the actual audio of the call and make a transcript. As you can guess, the long-term results of the call were not exactly constructive.

I'm not sure why this info is suddenly public (or rather, why all the dots have suddenly been connected) after ten years*. For all we know, two and two were likely put together pretty much the second the show was aired, with all the commentary on the subject memory-holed completely - only to be rediscovered a decade later. It doesn't really matter.

Whoever is behind this blog believes that they have managed to redirect their atrocity tourism operation into a noble but naive attempt at intervention that is almost certainly doomed to failure. I guess I can identify with that. But I hope for their sake that they're sharp enough to realize that the furries will give no fuck in the end. The fact that they're shocked that there are otherwise ok-seeming people tolerating Hopkins's shit kind of shows how green they are when it comes to the field of furries behaving badly.

(*at this rate i look forward to 2028, when someone integrates a 300-datapoint cyberneurojournal about adam wan)

[ProvincialTwit]

"Who cares?" - Robotnik, 1993

[Fantastigasm]

I think we have to start using the word "quirk" to refer to rapists.

[an hoopoe]

Someone going by the name of "Trev" posted this, on lulz.net, claiming that it was all a joke:

This whole thing was a gag perpetrated by David and Katie Hopkins. They were regular listeners of "Loveline", and would call in with some contrived question for Dr. Drew and co. and made it on the air several times.

Since they live on the West coast, and the show is (or was) broadcast live out there, they would let friends in the eastern U.S. know if they got on the show and they could listen when it repeated back east. During the "rape" call, apparently Dave was having a very hard time sitting next to Katie (who was playing completely straight) and not laughing out loud.

Once, a question they called in with dealt with how they would handle a hostage situation with a female caller being held at gunpoint by her ex-BF, who was insisting that the show hosts (Dr, Drew, Adam Carrolla, and guest Aisha Tyler) tell her she had to get back together with him. They said that they'd actually had some calls like that and explained how they dealt with them. David and Katie took that information and turned it into the story arc "Mahalo"

link: http://www.pholph.com/strip.php?id=5&sid=890

They ended up corresponding with them and sending them some artwork as a gift.

http://lulz.net/furi/res/2071361.html

[Fantastigasm]

Someone going by the name of "Trev" posted this, on lulz.net, claiming that it was all a joke:

This whole thing was a gag perpetrated by David and Katie Hopkins. They were regular listeners of "Loveline", and would call in with some contrived question for Dr. Drew and co. and made it on the air several times.

Since they live on the West coast, and the show is (or was) broadcast live out there, they would let friends in the eastern U.S. know if they got on the show and they could listen when it repeated back east. During the "rape" call, apparently Dave was having a very hard time sitting next to Katie (who was playing completely straight) and not laughing out loud.

Once, a question they called in with dealt with how they would handle a hostage situation with a female caller being held at gunpoint by her ex-BF, who was insisting that the show hosts (Dr, Drew, Adam Carrolla, and guest Aisha Tyler) tell her she had to get back together with him. They said that they'd actually had some calls like that and explained how they dealt with them. David and Katie took that information and turned it into the story arc "Mahalo"

link: http://www.pholph.com/strip.php?id=5&sid=890

They ended up corresponding with them and sending them some artwork as a gift.

http://lulz.net/furi/res/2071361.html

That's got to be the most bullshit explanation I've ever heard.  That explanation is so bullshit that now I'm beginning to think Hopkins is actually a real life rapist.

[Fantastigasm]

Also, even if this is a joke, calling in and pretending to be a potential rape victim... that's kinda dubious, too.

[chewy_lemon]

So Dave Hopkins has deleted his FA page and webcomic after accusations of harassment and stalking.

[ProvincialTwit]

The genuinely depressing and disgusting part is all the sycophants coming out of the woodwork to defend him, bringing with them hefty doses of victim blaming/shaming, general vitriol, misogyny and MRA screeds.

I must admit as much as I laugh about trainwrecks like Piche and FA, this side of the shitfest that is furry is just...ugh.

[Anarcho-Loser]

So it turns out the guy who draws rape porn and claims to call into radio shows with bogus rape stories just *might* be a terrible human being. Color me surprised.

Hopkins reaction to just nuke everything is... odd to me. Hasn't Adam Wan proven by now that if you just ignore these things, they'll go away? Or does Hopkins not draw porn well enough for that to work?

[Kindrift]

Remember that Dave quit his comic in the middle of an atrocious adaptation of a bad classical opera, after that 500+ page love tumblr and even some of his most rabid fans expressed that it was kinda shit.  That was months ago.  He's been running out of love online, so he's switched to his Xbox.  Not surprising that he's finally taken all his toys and gone home.

If anyone wants to know what they're missing, here's a high point of his work.

[an hoopoe]

Dave Hopkins has spoken about this matter and specifically mentions the deletion of on-line things:

So, I'm sure plenty of you have heard something about whats happened. If not http://kate-comics.tumblr.com/ has chronicled what has been made public so far.

It sounds really bad, which is why I've put everything on pause to explore legal action and I wont be back until I am satisfied that I can prove to you my character. I don't expect any of you to believe me right now and since I'm being asked not to disclose details about the case that is being made, I'm afraid I'm going to have to be quiet for a while.

This effort is not being directed at only one person and the desired outcome is only to clear your doubt about me and not to pursue damages or incarceration. So far a police report has been filed and I have been in legal council. Everyone is confident that we have the moral and the legal grounds to act.

During this process I am going to be completely open to the scrutiny of the legal and law enforcement community. If I am guilty of something they are going to find it.

I know how bad it looks. I know that disabling the FA page and turning off Pholph doesn't make me look very innocent. This was a decision that was made consciously to avoid the staff at FA or the host of Pholph receiving any unnecessary hassle. Neither are gone, rather temporarily disabled.

Do not act on my behalf in any fashion!

I'm not in hiding, I have in fact been very busy and I look forward to the time when we can get back to work. With you confident in me.

^
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6732628/

I want to reiterate that I do not want any harassment of the person in question due to this situation. We know for sure that she is not the person who supplied the Kate hateblog with my personal information, because we also actually know who it was that did. At the advice of my legal counsel, I cannot mention the name of the leaker until all of this is put to rest through litigation.


All that being said, I want to stress to you all the importance of patience and not jumping to conclusions here. I do not condone any trolling, flaming, or any harassment of any kind. I really, really appreciate all of the support you guys are showing me, and it means a lot; but, keep cool heads and bear with me until we get this sorted out.

Thanks everyone.

^
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6735793/

A curious thing, the person making the allegations against Hopkins states that:

I almost -killed- a man once who was trying to rape a drunk lady in the back of bar by beating his face into a brick wall until his ear tore off in my hand. That guy was 6'5’’ and 400 lbs. I’d enjoy cleaning the floor with a little creep like Hopkins, lol.

^
http://razor-rabbit.tumblr.com/post/118743304632/so-im-the-gal-that-dave-harassed-when-my-friend

She also said, in a now deleted FA journal, that:

I have connections. I get paedo-creeps arrested this way, and have taken down 50+ in the last year and a half, including a large child trafficking circle

The journal was at : http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6732404/ , but, as said, is now deleted.

Here are some comments from one of Dave Hopkins journals about this matter:

She has proof. It's in the courts now. We'll see what will happen in the future.

^
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6732628/#cid:45719640

Yes, the courts, where it should have been the whole time instead of the internet where speculation reigns supreme.

^
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6732628/#cid:45720352

So it seems that this matter will be decided by the law now.

[an hoopoe]

The hate tumblr is gone now. An update from David Hopkins.

First of all let me apologize for making everyone wait and wonder what happened. I hope by the end of this note you will all understand why I went about things in the way that I did.

Second, along with this note I am enabling my FA gallery again. You'll find nothing was taken down or deleted.

Third, Pholph.com will soon follow. We are doing a few, overdue, tweaks to the site and once they are complete Jack will be back up again. The comic won't update until The Wall is finished but the archives will be available.

And now fourth, the reason why you are likely reading this note, I did not do anything inappropriate where my accuser is concerned. I did not jerk off to anyone’s abuse. You guys know me, I'm far from a normal human being and I have some questionable interests. But those interests remain in the realm of fiction. Real life events of rape and child molestation are disgusting events whose damage never goes away. To think that I would approve or enjoy hearing about these things taking place in the real world is to accept that I have no ability to designate fiction from reality; to suggest I could get off on this happening in real life is to suggest that I can not designate good from the absolute worst kind of evil.

From my end, this is how events took place:
After posting my first half of The Wall I am invited by the person in question on the final page to talk.

She and I then exchange communications through FA's private note system. I became fascinated with the person she presented herself to be. While many of her stories seemed like tall tales I chose to take them as fact. Her stories about playing bait for online pediphiles so that she could collect information for the FBI seemed especially lofty, but as I learned more about her background I encouraged the activity as a way to exorcise her inner demons and to take the trauma she suffered as a child and use it to some good ends.

The FBI related activity she referred to as her "Hobby" and more than once I had wondered (albeit, sarcastically at the time) if I was a target for her "Hobby". As we continued talking, she became more interesting to listen to.

After several more talks we talk over the phone. Her childhood and past abuse was discussed and I, as well, shared facts about my own abuse at the hands of my mother. When the call ended I was confident it went well, She seemed happy and I was sure I would talk to her the next day over Skype.

I wouldn't hear from her again for another two months or about two weeks ago.

I am typically swamped with correspondence and my ability to get in touch with people I haven't talked to in a while has never been the best. My normal mode is to wait until people get in touch with me. Generally I figure that if I don't hear from someone then nothing is wrong. I don't think of myself as the center of anyone's life, and so I never feel important enough that people should want or need to hear from me.

Additionally this was about the time two of my family members were having serious depression issues. So my focus was distracted away from fans.

Sunday, May 10th a few hours before I had to leave for work. I received an FA note from a reader stating that I had abused her friend over the phone. Now at first I couldn't remember the friend’s name. The venom in this note was a shock to me. Many of you have expressed to me how surprised YOU were to hear of this, imagine how I felt! I responded immediately expressing confusion.

When I recalled who it was, I attempted to contact this person. At first via FA notes and Skype. Failing that I tried to call and the angry tone I was faced with left me confused. I was beginning to wonder if I had unintentionally harmed her and I was beginning to fear that everything my detractors said about me was true. At the end of the call when she told me to kill myself and I told her I would.

When I collected myself afterward I called Tet. He answered and I asked him to take Pholph down. Of course he asked why, but at the time I couldn't tell him that I was severely depressed. When I figured out how to disable my FA page I started driving to work, where I'd be alone for 8 hours in a tiny guard shack. No one around to tell me not to do what I was thinking of doing and no one to stop me either.

The guard I relieved that night took notice of my distressed appearance and offered an ear. I let loose my story and they unknowingly talked me off of the ledge. I called Tet again and told him everything, he was supportive and helpful as he’s always been and he continues to be so throughout this whole thing. We all agreed, maybe it was a good idea to try being "Dead Online" for a little while.

The night was very long and easily one of the worst in my life. I tried contacting many people I hadn't heard from in awhile, wondering if I had unknowingly hurt them the way I seemed to have hurt this person.

At a friend's suggestion, I stopped by the police department on the way home and filed a report about my phone calls that night, feeling that if this person were to make good on her threats to contact the police, having a record about the incident in already would be wise.

I went home when my shift ended and found she had responded to one of my FA notes (She had apparently found it after my call) and at her request I promised never to speak to her again before putting her on block..

At this point so much has gone on that exact dates are a little hazy. Phone records and such will clear things up should the police or courts need to become involved further, but for now I'll continue as I remember them.

At this point enters W who was the remarkable woman who got in touch with me and from her legal background started talking to me about laws, my rights, and the particulars of this case. There was a limit to W's help and that was understood, but she served very knowledgeable council. She agreed that it was best to stay offline for a while to let things calm down. I was determined that this would not be another drama war with casualties on all fronts. W coached me in keeping a calm attitude about the situation and together we began investigating it.

The first thing we did was go over my conversations with my accuser wherein she had given me her Facebook account. I felt, and W agreed that it would be inappropriate for me to examine the Facebook site myself, so W looked through it and took screen captures of posts that she felt were particularly telling. We found nothing directly relating to my case, but we did discover two very important things.

The first being several posts where the accuser complimented herself on causing trouble in various fandoms and bragged about receiving hate mail from her activities. For me this was an important moment, I began to think that I may not have been the monster I thought I was. I was reminded of her "Hobby" and I began to think that my earlier sarcastic speculation, when we were still on friendly terms, may have had merit. Screenshots of these posts have been saved but they will not be shared publicly.

This activity is in keeping with something I would later find out. In one of the accuser's journal's about all this where in she names a new artist friend of mine as someone I was "Grooming to be (my) next victim" I would later find out from this friend that she did express sympathy to the accuser but that her words were misinterpreted in the journal.

The second thing we discovered was her real life location. This was important for looking up jurisdiction and the laws governing internet abuse in her area. We were exploring this event as a case of slander. It was very clear that her claim had done great harm to everyone's opinion of me, even close friends had expressed moments of doubt in me. I felt that getting into endless games of he-said/she-said in the public eye was not going to solve much, and that I owed it to everyone still sticking by me, and myself, to take this as far as I could.

The plan, after gathering all the information we could, was to contact a lawyer and make an official order to have her step away from any slanderous activity. This would also leave open the option to her, if she chose, to make a legal claim against me. Before anyone wonders (or claims on my behalf), there was never any intention to go after her wallet or pursue incarceration, this was strictly about bringing the issue to a quick end.

This process felt incredibly slow and all the while we were working on another aspect of this case (See below). For the past two weeks I have done little else and depression and hopelessness sunk in many times. But the support from you all were very important in keeping me going.

When all that could be done was done W pointed me at a lawyer in my area, and he agreed to talk to me about my case. I met Mr. Williams in his office on Tuesday the 19th and what he had to say was a bit disheartening. Mr. Williams told me about a thing called a SLAPP law designed to cut back on frivolous legal action.

While there's no question the harm she's done to my character and to your opinion of me (had you a favorable one to begin with) I can't prove damages. I don't have any recent books out, so I can't show a drop in sales directly related to the incident, I was not hospitalized so I can't prove emotional or physical damage.

It requires no evidence to accuse someone of something heinous online. But it requires very hard evidence to do something similar in the real world. I understand the purpose of that, it just didn't work out in my favor. So my attempt to spare you a "He-said/She-said" flame war has failed. Now that you've heard my end, I'll trust it to your own good judgement. If you turn your back on me I will be understanding.

At some point during all this, the Kate Blog was involved. I've left this hate-blog thing untouched for years... It's America right? I get my say, they get theirs. They don't have to like my art. Well, after they decided to become very vocally involved in this mess, I finally took a look at the thing. I mean really looked at it. I had tried to ignore it for the most part save for the few times someone linked me to one of their riffs. Again, I have my say, they should get their say. Except that their say is that I shouldn't have a say at all.

I started realizing that they may be a big part of this problem. I am not convinced my accuser is a bad person, but I'm left to puzzle over that two month period where I thought everything was fine. Between when I thought this woman and I were friends and the moment I received the above mentioned note. Thinking on her words about her "Hobby" I start to wonder if somewhere along the line someone or something didn't convince her that something I did was worth going through this over.

Now let me make it clear that I have no evidence linking her and Kate prior to the note. But all during this they made an eager, one-sided platform for my accuser to spread her claim. Never did anyone wonder about the facts not adding up, or what my side might be because, frankly to them, my side is unimportant. If i were to announce one day that the word "Why" contained three letters, their response would be that I, of course, picked the number that looked the most like a pair of breasts (which I still couldn't draw).

If we are to take my accuser at her word, and she really was in enough pain to try and take her life over all of this, then all Kate did was use her to push their agenda against me with no thought to her well being.

While looking through the blog, only an idiot would scan its pages and not be shocked or even frightened by what they saw. Several friends and family members have expressed worry for my safety because of the blog. And because when Kate grows restless attacking me, they target my wife and my friends; I worry for them. They say that they don't condone any action against my friends, family or myself, but at the same time the people that do, they hold on a pedestal. They have created this environment of hate, and it can be no surprise when hate spawns from it.

I have many times in the past few weeks considered quitting as an option so that they would direct this ire elsewhere and leave the people that I love alone. Even now, I may still need to consider this option. As much as I love doing what I do, it's not worth my friends and family being hurt because of it.

While investigating the situation with the accuser, we decided (My wife Katie, W, Mr. Williams and myself) that it was time for the blog to go.

W introduced me to a DMCA form used to ask that Tumblr remove something at the request of the content's creator. While it took several rounds Tumblr had finally started to relent and the Kate-Blog was finding itself light on content (though this effort had to be done in batches).

As far as Mr. Williams’ involvement in this, we were going through Kate one post at a time looking for untrue statements presented as facts and statements made that we can prove are untrue. This information would then be gathered into a document warning of legal action that Tumblr would have been obligated to see finds it's way into the hands of the people who ran Kate.

At 7:18 am PST in the morning on 5/25/15 while I was working on the next batch of DMCA reports, the Kate blog went down and in it’s place was Tumblr’s standard address not found message. Indicating Tumblr had removed the site without the necessity of legal action.

If Kate, this woman or anyone else wishes to get a hold of me about these matters I ask you to find my attorney’s contact information on his website www.harrywilliamsllaw.com

To the fans. Please do not abuse woman in question, do not confront the people who ran Kate, and allow people who post below their opinion.

This whole experience is, regrettably, going to change the way I interact with fans. The more personal approach I take to talking with people about their troubles in life will need to end.

Thank you everyone. A few more things left to tend to, and I'll be back to work.

^
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6768376/

[Anarcho-Loser]

So, long story short, it sounds like Dave DMCAd the blog away.

[unnamedpanda]

Remember that Dave quit his comic in the middle of an atrocious adaptation of a bad classical opera, after that 500+ page love tumblr and even some of his most rabid fans expressed that it was kinda shit.  That was months ago.  He's been running out of love online, so he's switched to his Xbox.  Not surprising that he's finally taken all his toys and gone home.

If anyone wants to know what they're missing, here's a high point of his work.

It is having to tolerate rank and file persons in the furry fandom who draw, create or write demented, sick, twisted crap like this that makes me hate being a furry.

It is hard to know which one is worse; Someone actually wrote all that garbage, had the malice of fore-thought to think out such things for whatever amusement it brings them or that I wasted a few minutes of my life reading it, trying to make sense of it.
It is probably the latter.

[camellia sinensis]

I wouldn't really want to hang out with the person who draws and gets off to this stuff but the actual content is pretty, idk, prosaic when you consider shit like Criminal Minds being on prime time, and the SAW movies and shit.

[rodox_video]

he's sort of an edginess time capsule