Why Is 'Spider-Man: Lotus' So Controversial? The Racism Allegations Against the Makers Of The Fan-Made Film Explained

The Spider-Man media franchise has proven itself to be a goldmine for filmmakers, with Spider-Man: Homecoming and the animated Across The Spider-Verse films paving the way for a true Spidey renaissance. One person eager to jump on the Spider-Man hype train was a man named Gavin J. Konop, whose goal to make a Spider-Man fan film was turned into a reality when he managed to raise over $100,000 in crowdfunding money to make what he called Spider-Man: Lotus.

The film finally premiered this week, but internet audiences were less than amused by the red-carpet event. Here's why audiences turned on the lead actor and the director of the fan film following the release of a series of racist and insensitive messages sent by both creators.

What Is 'Spider-Man: Lotus' About?

Spider-Man: Lotus was first announced in 2021, with director Gavin J. Konop promoting a crowdfunding campaign for a Spider-Man film inspired by the 1984 story from The Amazing Spider-Man comics "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man." In the comic, Spider-Man visits a kid with leukemia, Tim Harrison, who is Spider-Man's biggest fan. Konop says the film is about "how we encounter loss, how we deal with it, and how we grow from it."

The video gained over 121,000 views in a year, and the IndieGoGo campaign promoted in the film surpassed its goal of $20,000 by raising over $112,000 US in just six months. By October 2021, Konop had released a teaser, a snippet of the film's theme songs, and even a full-length trailer that has gathered over 2 million views.

Why Did 'Spider-Man: Lotus' Become Mired In Controversy?

Soon after the initial viral popularity of the trailers for Spider-Man: Lotus, old acquaintances of the lead actor Warden Wayne and the director released screenshots of both Wayne and Konop using racial and insensitive slurs.

While Wayne took accountability for his messages and apologized for his behavior as a younger person raised in a racially insensitive setting, but Konop denied sending the messages altogether. But racist direct messages weren't the end of Konop's problems; artists working on the Spider-Man film with him accused him of underpaying and in some cases not paying them altogether.

Did 'Spider-Man: Lotus' Premier?

Despite all the hurdles, Spider-Man: Lotus premiered in August 2023, complete with a private showing and a red carpet event. This premier didn't come without dissidents; various internet users took it as an opportunity to share their collection of memes that play on the involved party's racism controversies.

Many memes about the film's racism controversies featured Miles Morales, the black Spider-Man.

For the full history of Spider-Man: Lotus, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.