Asmongold "Artist's Opinions Don't Matter"

Submission 10,241

Part of a series on Asmongold. [View Related Entries]

Overview

Asmongold's "Artist's Opinions Don't Matter" refers to a quote that became a topic of contention online in late January 2024 after a clip of Twitch streamer Asmongold weighing in on the Palworld controversy went viral on X / Twitter and other platforms. Asmongold's statement that "Artists opinions don’t matter. What matters is the opinion of the people that are buying the product" drew the ire of various internet users as it spread over the following days, with Asmongold doubling down on his opinion and posting a response video soon after.

Background

During a Twitch^[8] stream on his zackrawrr channel on January 23rd, 2024, Asmongold was discussing the ongoing viral debate surrounding Palworld (primarily its similarities to Pokemon and its AI art controversy) while watching a video on the topic made by YouTuber^[9] Ludwig when he said, "Well AI and the sentiment from artists — artists opinions don’t matter. It just doesn't matter. Because what matters is the opinion of the people that are buying the product" (YT reupload seen below).

Later on January 23rd, X^[1] / Twitter user @jeannette_feliz posted a clip of Asmongold from the stream commenting on the rumors that Palworld may have been made using AI art. In the caption, she said "Actual braindead" and received over 35 million views, 42,000 likes and 9,800 reposts in two days (seen below).

Online Reactions

Various X users quoted the aforementioned post by @jeannette_feliz to signal their disagreement with Asmongold as it rapidly spread on the platform. For example, on January 24th, 2024, X^[2] user @StephieSparda posted a SpongeBob meme that read, "No one cares about the fate of labour as long as they can get their instant satisfaction," gathering over 30,000 likes in a day (seen below, left). Also on January 24th, X^[3] user and video game character artist @EZE3D made a post critical of Asmongold as well, gathering over 45,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

Later on January 24th, X^[4] user @M1das_OW2 quoted Asmongold's clip with a video of a fan-made AI-aided Super Mario game, saying, "this is the future of gaming that he wants." The post gathered over 45,000 likes in a day (seen below).

Developments

Asmongold Responds To Critics

In a follow-up Twitch^[10] stream on January 24th, 2024, Asmongold then responded to the ongoing controversy following his take on Palworld and AI art. Asmongold also posted a two-hour-long YouTube^[7] video to his
Asmongold TV channel of the stream, titled "I Got Cancelled. My Full Response," on January 25th, which gathered over 200,000 plays in four hours (seen below).

Later that day, X^[5] user @bromojumbo made a post repeating Asmongold's line (seen below, left), and was quoted by Asmongold^[6] saying, "Am I wrong about this?" (seen below, right).