Electronic producer Pogo is well known for splicing together Disney classics into wonderful mashups that convey the whimsy and magic of the original movies. Now, however, Pogo, real name Nick Bertke, is under fire for some recently unearthed videos of him spewing vile homophobic and misogynistic rhetoric.
In a nearly 3-minute video entitled “Why I called my channel Fagottron,” Bertke explains his distaste for the gay community. He says, “I came up with Fagottron because I’ve always had a very thorough dislike of homosexuals. I’ve never liked grown men acting like a 12-year-old girl.”
The video has drawn mixed reactions from those taking the video at face value and those believing that it’s a satirical video, too “deadpan” to be legitimate. Bertke responded to criticism on his Facebook page by saying:
“Except I’m talking straight out of my ass. I made this during the Trump election to impersonate the radical right and start a fire. It’s the same time I made music videos of me staring into the camera doing nothing pretending to be terrified. It’s the Andy Kaufman in me. I enjoy perplexing people. Fagotron really was just a way of saying Prickotron or Dickotron where I grew up. Some of my best friends and supporters are gay and it’s nothing I even think about.”
The video in question has been available on YouTube, unlisted, since May 2, but it wasn’t until a post on reddit this morning that it was brought to a larger light. That post has since been locked for users after 3100 comments for violating the subreddit’s rules, namely “No Personal Information or Witch-Hunting” and “No Hate Speech.”
The most vile part of the video is when he references the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando and gives that tragedy an excited fist pump.
“When there was the Orlando shooting and the guy was shouting ‘allahu akbar,’ or whatever, I was like [makes fist pump motion]. But I’ve gotta be a bit careful with that, because well, you know… I don’t like gays, but I don’t want to see people getting killed in nightclubs either. But still, it’s just fantastic.”
Pogo – Why I called my channel Fagottron
Despite his claims of satire and “having gay friends” (which still doesn’t make this okay), Bertke has a history of anti-feminism and homophobia as seen his video, “Why I Don’t Take Feminism Seriously.” He claimed after intense fan backlash that it was a social experiment gone wrong: “I mashed together the most radical views I could find about women and feminism on the internet, doing my best to present it as my humble opinion and honest observations.”
More evidence of Bertke’s unsavory history with anti-feminist and misogynist views can be found here.
As Bertke attempts to back pedal and make excuses for this type of speech, his fate is now left to the court of public opinion; which, so far, has not been too kind to him.
inb4 the radical right comes
And we care about this…Why, exactly?
SkillsThrills and Chills.The only way to go.
I mean, I’ve seen the videos myself, and have been following him for years. Not sure what is deluded about having full knowledge given to us and making a judgement. If he was truly satirical, he gave no indication of it, making it a terrible satirical piece, and easily misinterpretable.