“F-ck KFC”
Going to keep this short and to the point.
Tonight on Twitter Dan Slott apologized to many Spider-fans who were incorrectly blocked when he began using some sort of social media automatic blocking bot. While trying to autoblock people involved in the current ‘Gamer Gate’ debacle (Google it if you want but it’s not Spider-related) he apparently plugged in a anti-Gamer Gate list… and wound up blocking many Spider-fans who had said or done nothing to him on Twitter.
This brief editorial isn’t about that though. However Mr. Slott chooses to manage his social media… well that’s all up to him. But while explaining what happened on Twitter he made the tweet you see to the right.
We went with a screenshot instead of an embedded tweet in case the original tweet is deleted. Next to the screenshot of the tweet is an Avengers related KFC promo, an Amazing Spider-Man KFC promo and a KFC kids meal promo with Hulk, the Thing and Wolverine.
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken, owned by Yum! Brands which also owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut) has been a business partner with Marvel in the past, doing comics promotions and even kids meal promotions involving Marvel comics and movies. Even a brief Google image search shows you exactly what I mean. Most recently they have even promoted the Marvel Universe Live show currently touring arenas & stadiums across the country.
Mr. Slott’s Twitter tirades and online feuds are the stuff of legend now, and we’ve covered them here before when he’s gone after comic fans on message boards and social media.
But all the same, I find myself asking if Disney Marvel is really and truly fine with the writer of Amazing Spider-Man (the flagship title featuring a character that brought in over a billion dollars in licensing last year) hurling venom at corporate partners?
It’s 2015. Welcome to the New Professionalism.
–George Berryman!
I MAKE PIZZAS WITH MORE PROFESSIONALISM THAN THIS. Also, no surprise that he buys into the the anti-GG BS. Is it a coincidence that his women are always written as one-dimensional conflict-barren Mary Sues (except Anna, granted)? Hmm….
@#48 Very well said.
@#47 Holy cow! is that a real menu item? and I thought the double down sandwich looked deadly.
@#46 Frontier- But, again, look at Slott’s run on She-Hulk to see how he portrays Jennifer Walters and She-Hulk. She-Hulk was Jennifer Walter’s “Wild Side,” more willing to sleep around and have a “good time” than Jennifer was (Save for Juggernaut, as Slott went to GREAT lengths to say THAT didn’t happen.) That the She-Hulk side was not a positive influence on Jennifer, and that her more human and “reserved” side was to be promoted.
Again, this seems like an admirable quality on the surface, but it does seem in many respects to be single minded in a lot of ways. It unfortunately takes the tactic of dividing women into the category of “Virgins” and “Whores.” Just look at the attitude regarding MJ and Felicia. The books have never, NEVER, implied that they have had a string of romantic partners, or are just interested in sex for the sake of sex. MJ was a “Party girl” who didn’t want to be tied down. Felicia was a cat burglar who was more interested in Spider-Man than Peter Parker. Yet over time that had morphed in the general consciousness into “They’re both sluts.” Because how DARE a woman be confident in her own sexuality? Or “save” herself for a particular partner. It goes back to that mentality that a guy can bang ten women and it makes him a stud, but a woman who sleeps with more than two guys is a slut.
And again, it might seem an admirable trait. But it seems more like an ATTEMPT to be “englighted” rather than actually BEING enlightened. It’s not “I think that women should not be bound by the shackles of what men tell them.” It’s “I want to make it seem like I’m not sexist, so I’m going to hard on pretty women to show how sensitive I am!” It’s not really addressing the issues that affect women. It’s playing into the stereotype that only the people who don’t downplay their good looks are vain and self-centered. It’s a hollow way for someone like Slott to try and promote his preferred love interests and characters, by insisting that they are of a greater “moral” quality than other characters.
Like I said, I don’t think it’s a surprise that once Carlie got shoved off the floor as a love interest, MJ went from superstar celebrity to someone more “down to earth.” And you can bet when she reappears, or during Renew Your Vows, Slott will “downplay” MJ’s attractiveness or her popularity to be more akin to what he feels “appropriate.”
On the subject, isn’t this kinda like KFC saying FU to their customers? I hear he original isn’t very kind to arteries…
@45 – Huh, I never thought of that, but that’s an interesting perspective on Slott’s feelings about women and how he’s treated some of his female characters over the course of his ASM run. I recall that once scene in Superior where MJ is all dolled up and looking great to meet that firefighter guy, only to get pounced on by a dog and get her outfit and makeup all dirtied. Black Cat also takes pride in her looks, in using them to her advantage, and makes sure to use her outfit to accentuate them, and look at what’s happened to her under Slott’s pen.
Carlie, on the other hand, wouldn’t necessarily fit what people would traditionally view of femininity, a forensic scientist who doesn’t wear dresses often or cares for the stereotypical “girl” stuff, and she’s been Peter’s longest-lasting girlfriend under Slott’s tenure on the book. Even setting aside the bad stuff that happened to her in Superior, she’s one of the few characters who actually managed to figure out and act on the fact that Peter had been replaced by Ock.
Then again, he’s written She-Hulk who as a character is quite proud of her looks and doesn’t really dress that conservatively when she’s Hulked-out. Of course, She-Hulk is also very forward and almost “one of the guys” in how she acts sometimes, in contrast to Jennifer Walters, so maybe that’s what makes her different?
I wonder if Slott writing a story where Sue Storm ends up arrested for pantsing Supervillains is a factor in that at all or just me reaching?
@#41 Gary- I think Slott is “Pro-Women” in the same way that, for example, Tony Harris is “Pro-Women.” Or Pat Broderick is “Pro-Women.” In that they have an admirable mindset in regards to women, but that they seem to be too single-minded to accept other philosophies or personalities.
Slott seems to be of the “Real women don’t wear dresses” type of mindset. That true, admirable women are those that don’t seem to go in for traditional feminine things. Being pretty is one thing. TRYING to be pretty, or making a career of being pretty or using one’s looks to their advantage is another. A woman in his mind probably shouldn’t WANT to go into those “silly” things such as trendy dresses, or makeup or making themselves look pretty. Those are the traits of “selfish” or “materialistic” women. A “real” woman doesn’t care about those sort of things. They will be gorgeous, but not because they “slather” themselves with makeup, or try to ACTIVELY look attractive at all.
Now, on paper, this seems like an admirable philosophy. But the problem is that it tends to go into that “Slut shamming” territory that shows it not to be an enlightened attitude, but another form of discrimination in many ways. It’s one thing to be against materialism, or to show that vanity is not an admirable trait. It’s another to condemn or criticize women for the simple fact that they are pretty, or like to look pretty. That they like to wear clothes that compliment their figure. Or, in the case of someone like MJ, uses her good looks to pursue a career in acting and modeling. I don’t think it is a surprise that when she wasn’t a principal love interest, MJ was a “celebrity” on a “reality show.” When she started to become more of a love interest again, Slott had her pull up stakes in her show and just become the owner of a bar. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
Just loot at Slott’s interview, where he tried to condemn MJ and even Gwen for the crime of being attractive, and to show why Otto was “better” since he didn’t go into things like how someone looked. That the very NOTION of someone being attracted to someone because-in part- they were ATTRACTIVE was a personality flaw. That the attraction can only be due to PERSONALITY, not anything physical.
Again, this seems like it’s meant to be an admirable trait. But to me it stinks a little of “Limousine Liberalism,” in that it seems more like an attempt to come OFF as enlightened and promoting women’s rights, but instead it shows another form of misogyny, that of condemning women for not conforming to their particular ideal. There is more than one way to be a women, and simply being pretty or looking pretty is not in and of itself a crime. Slott’s treatment of women he deems to be more “admirable” verses those he doesn’t shows that while he tries to come across as progressive, it’s less an open-minded attitude and more an attempt to make himself seem more progressive than he actually is.
Man… now I want a big bucket of extra crispy!!! Everybody needs a little KFC!!! 😉 Thwip!
for those saying Slott should not need to be careful of the the things he says publicly because of his freedom of speech you must understand that being free to speak dosent mean you are free of any unintended consequence. you have the freedom to say what you want as long as you own the consequence . Slott has the right to Tweet”Fuck KFC”. George Barryman has the right to tell Slott he is a clown, and Marvel has every right to fire him if they deem his behavior unprofessional.
@40 – Whoa, hold up. There’s plenty of legit reasons to criticize Slott’s work on ASM and the way he comports himself online. But we don’t hurl out personal insults like “fat POS.” First warning. Folks, please remember, we don’t allow personal attacks here. Thanks! 🙂
#11
Good point. Slott claims to be Pro-Women, but he spent the entire run of Superior Spider-man painting Mary Jane and Aunt May as two morons incapable of seeing that Peter wasn’t acting like himself.
I lost my twitter account because of Slott. All I ever did to that fat POS was ask him why he thought “Crazy Town Banana Pants” was a good idea, first he blocked me, then my twitter feed was flooded with Slott Fanboys calling me every name under the sun, then I got a notice saying my account had been banned due to “harassment.”
Slott is an immature fool. His run on Spider-man is terrible, and his attempts to ruin Peter Parker have killed my enjoyment with comic books.
I’ll be glad when a new writer takes over. Assuming Marvel doesn’t decide to let Slott ruin Spidey for years to come
@38 – That’s for damn sure! 😎
Mountain Dew should be sending a flat of their product to Brad every month.
@34 – In the sense that either side is paid? No. Eddie’s a friend of the site and we’re thrilled that he contributes here. When you listen to the same “bashing” podcast you also hear us saying “Congratulations!” Or maybe you chose not to hear it. Either way, we did address it and gave Eddie the floor in a subsequent podcast. To put it in correct context in regards to professionalism, imagine if Brad or anyone on the podcast panel insulted a business that sponsored the podcast. That would be unprofessional. Very much so.
@35 – Yep! That’s pretty much my point!
@34 – Eddie is a private individual that (as far as I know) doesn’t work for Marvel. He is not the mouthpiece for their flagship character, and as such, represents what that character says and does.
Gilbert Gotfried was fired from his voice acting role as the Aflac duck for tweeting some off-color comments in the wake of the massive Japanese tsunami a few years back. Mr. Slott’s comments are not of the same offensive degree as Gotfried’s, but in both cases, it could be argued that these individuals are misrepresenting and tarnishing the interests of their respective companies.
How is this different from bashing Eddie DeAngelini and then calling it a joke? Doesn’t Crawlspace have a professional relationship with him?
@31 – Slott was trying to pre-emptively block any pro-GamerGate Twitter user. But the way the block list worked (it’s a third party thing) also put people on the block list who happened to be associated with anyone the list author (someone named Randi) deemed to be pro-GG. Slott was using the list in conjunction with another app or add-on that took the names and automatically Twitter blocked them.
Here’s a link to the list Slott was using. It shows all the Twitter accounts that the list blocks. 23 pages as of right now, 500 accounts/names per page.
https://blocktogether.org/show-blocks/5867111278318bd542293272f75147f8fc5931bea431e7ca16e9242964965d66494a6fb68f3518b82f171bcf0e419ccc?page=1
@#31: The blockbot was created to block out the Pro-GG stuff. From what I’ve heard it was coded quite poorly (I’m not a programmer so this is just from word of mouth).
So, was Dan Slott trying to block Anti-Gamergate tweets or Pro-Gamergate tweets?
Advertising is a tricky situation. It doesn’t take much to pull an ad and loose money. Something as minor as an employee saying a bad word on Twitter.
I think it’d be akin to you saying screw a magazine that your channel happens to advertise in. I genuinely don’t see a problem with it. If he’d been bashing the Marvel related tie-ins at KFC or calling for a boycott then I might agree. It’s ok to disagree though 🙂
I’m Barry by the way, really not hiding behind the name Hairychap. Just been my online name for about twenty years.
This kind of reeks of negligence on slotts part about alot of issues in his tweet. First how he goes about blocking followers via a block all button to try to wiggle himself free of blame. Secondly his stance on anti gamergate which in hind sight kind of makes sense how he treats his female characters. And third his devil may care attitude towards marvel as a company almost as if he feels marvel should thank him for being the writer of their flagship character and not the other way around.
Hairy- the editorial is about professionalism. Do you think Slott was professional in saying F an advertiser? If you say yes then we’ll agree to disagree.
That’s a fair point George, you don’t explicitly state it. Rather I’ve inferred it from the last paragraph. Apologies for misconstruing your words but I do still think this is non story.
“Suggesting someone should be sacked for a silly KFC tweet is the very definition of petty in my eyes.”
Re-read it and show me where I said he should be sacked.
Hey Michael,
I don’t use the word petty to validate my opinion, it’s the very crux of my post. Suggesting someone should be sacked for a silly KFC tweet is the very definition of petty in my eyes. Even your post, you just hate the guy – and there are reasons to, but this isn’t really one. Again, my opinion. I’d also question your assertion that I’m apathetic. If I were, why would I be posting on or visiting (daily) a Spidey website?
Howdy Brad,
While I haven’t ever posted those words verbatim, I have in person and on social media reiterated that view. Particularly when BP were given the risible first fine. I’ve signed petitions and if someone was to make a big deal about it then perhaps I would get sacked but I don’t imagine they’d be looked upon particularly favourably by my peers. I do accept that there’s the whiff of hypocrisy criticising the industry I work in, that’s a circle I’m finding increasingly difficult to square recently but it’s kinda irrelevant.
Looks like Spidey and KFC have already teamed up. Well, the movie version that is.
@15 – “@ hornacek “slott writing amazing spiderman is a huge responsibility. ” I see what you did there :p”
Ha! I didn’t intend that when I wrote that, maybe my subconscious was choosing my words for me.
I think this was pretty much just intended as a joke. BUT it does highlight another problem with Slott. Note that the reason he blocked KFC was because he was trying to block “offending” messages. Yes, he claims it was part of the “Gamergate” controversy, but we know that he’s blocked out any critical statements regarding him or his work in the past, and it’s hardly due to an overarching sense of “morality” on his part. Moreso, he tends to go overboard in mocking those that he is blocking, making it seem like they are not worth his notice, time or attention.
It just goes back to his childish attitude and his complete and total lack of professionalism. Making fun of KFC? OK, that should warrant a call from Marvel, but nothing too serious. Just a “Hey, you do know we are social partners with them, right?” But blocking people online, and then mocking them for blocking them? That’s indicative of a larger, far more childish and destructive attitude that is more of a drag on the company than anything else.
I’ve seen people get in trouble for doing far less. I have to bring up a personal story about what lead to my original job loss in 2010. We had a big contributor to my corporation come to my area and wanted one of our specials. I politely explained to him why I was unable to get it and offered alternatives. He wasn’t pleased but realized that delays happen and left. Two weeks later, he returned and asked for the same item but I once again told him, we were out because we did not receive enough of the item. He wanted to know a real explanation about why it was always gone when he was there. I told him, it was just bad timing and sadly I was on the phone with the company that sends the product and asked them why their shipper didn’t follow the instructions of my original order on the item. They told me the shipper had recently left, feeling he didn’t get paid enough and walked out on the position and ended up screwing up several other orders as a result. He decided to report not to my supervisor, not to the head of the department but to the president of the company that I didn’t give him his item because “I didn’t get paid enough.”
Fearing they would lose a lot of money if this contributor was not happy with “my service” they decided to get rid of me. A few weeks later, the same problems continued without me and less than a year later, the contributor pulled out anyhow due to another set of reasons. Yet, in the end and the truth out, I was still out of a job with a baby on the way. In this case, Slott joking or not, he needs to be careful with what he says. Saying he had bad service at his local KFC is one thing and tweeting about it. Saying FU to a potential patnership for the company he works for when he is one of the higher profile writers of one of their main franchises is another. Can I see Dan Slott getting a call not to do that again, sure. But could KFC also come over and say if one of their main writers thinks that about them as a company representative, then maybe Marvel feels the same. Yes, that could be bad and it could go any other way. Sadly, Dan Slott like anyone else has to think the main rules about social media: “Is it true?” “Is it harmful?” “Is it right?” “Think first and then post.”
@BD ….. No
Raul- so if you were Slott’s boss you’d be fine with him potentially ticking off a future/ current advertiser ?
Hairychap- use your real name online and shout that real loud on social media. I’m sure your boss will look the other way, cause comics right?
I get what you guys are saying, but like @12 said I think it was a joke.
Should this thing really be an issue?
I may be dense but what even triggered him to tweet that fuck KFC thing? He is talking about gamergate at then this comes out of left field. What?
@ hornacek “slott writing amazing spiderman is a huge responsibility. ” I see what you did there :p
“F*@# KFC”?!7
LOL What the heck?
I don’t know if it’s the norm out there,but i wouldn’t Tweet “F-ck Bugs Bunny” if i were writing Batman…….for obvious reasons….
I;m not a fan of Slott’s, but I think it’s pretty clear that was a joke.
@hairchap Don’t try to validate your own opinion more by cheapening other people’s with accusations of “petty hatred”.
Dan Slott is the current head writer of one of our favourite characters, and he behaviour is like that of an angry teenager. He is incredibly unprofessional. He’s constantly rude and entirely self obsessed.
It’s hard to take seriously a man who sits around JUSTIFYING his own angry outbreaks. He’s a grown man, and yet he can’t act like one. Nobody should treat people the way he does. People have every right to be offended by it.
I don’t want this man representing my favourite character, and there are ACTUAL reasons many of us who feel the same way. Just because you want to be apathetic about stuff doesn’t mean the rest of us have to be.
The fact that he claims to be Anti-GamerGate is quite telling. His writing of female characters is some of the most backwards, naive and ignorant I’ve seen in years.
George, get over your petty hatred of Slott please. Guy says fuck KFC, stop the press! I work in oil and gas but fuck BP for the gulf spill and fuck Shell for reviving plans to drill in the Arctic. Are you going to try and get me sacked now too?
Employee, Contract, Freelance – any way you slice it the writer of ASM absolutely represents Disney Marvel.
#6 “Compared to the number of people that would see any campaign they worked with Marvel on, that number is statistically insignificant.”
Until KFC signs a deal using Spidey to promote a kid’s meal, or something.
And then screenshots of this go viral.
Or Taco Bell, or Pizza Hut, or Long John Silver’s, or A&W Root Beer Restaurants, or Fritos-Lay/Sabritas, or any part of PepsiCo in general.
Weird what goes viral and what doesn’t.
Seems ill-advised, but then, I’m not a writer for Marvel. What do I know?
@6 – There is nothing private when you post on Twitter. It’s like Slott is standing in the middle of a crowd and yelled “FUCK KFC!”
And I don’t really care whether Slott is a Marvel employee or a freelancer or a contract employee, or whether he is attacking a potential sponsor that Marvel may deal with in the future. He is the writer of the Amazing Spider-Man. That is a huge responsibility, writing a character that is loved the world over by fans young and old. How many of his followers are only because he writes ASM? And how many of those are kids? Do we really want someone writing ASM that is saying on Twitter “Fuck this and fuck that”?
Would Stan act like this on Twitter? Stern? DeFalco?
It was private in the sense that it was his own account, not Marvel’s. He was not speaking as a representative of the company.
Is he even under contract to Marvel, or are comic book writers still considered freelancers? Either way, KFC isn’t going to base their business decisions on whether or not they can make a profit. If they based their decisions on something like this, they would be incompetent. He has 65k followers. Compared to the number of people that would see any campaign they worked with Marvel on, that number is statistically insignificant.
@2 – As Brad has pointed out, this was quite public.
It’s one thing to say “I don’t eat a lot of KFC myself.” It’s quite another to say “Hey, Fuck KFC. You know – some of the guys we make licensing revenue off of via cross promotion.”
@2 A personal social media account isn’t private. The Internet can see it. If KFC management saw that and was thinking of advertising with Marvel that could have killed the deal and cost the Marvel millions. Bottom line it’s bad form.
Personally, I’m just waiting for news to break about Dan Slott being “escorted” out of MARVEL at this point. The guy’s already got enough rope to hang himself as it is.
That’s up to Disney Marvel, but I find myself asking why I should really care what a corporation thinks about what an employee tweets on their personal account. Did you really mean to suggest that he can’t say anything negative about any corporation because they might be a future partner with Disney?
Personally, I think he got it right. The best thing you can say about KFC’s food is that it isn’t quite as horrible as the food at the other two chains that you mentioned.
If this was some Joe Blow or some stand-up comic I’d be like “Ok, whatever.” or “That’s kinda funny.” But this is the guy writing Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel’s flagship character, which (in theory) is read by young kids. Considering today’s media culture and how people follow famous people on Twitter, should he really be tweeting “Fuck ” when there is every expectation that young readers of ASM are following him on Twitter and will see that? Especially with Slott’s track record of having to read his Twitter feed to learn missing plot elements from his issues, he probably has more of his readers following him than your average comic-book writer.