Bored Ape Yacht Club Accused Of Racist Origins, Sparking Heated Debates Online

In a Twitter Space hosted by the crypto-enthusiast loldefi, the NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BYAC) found itself under fire today with accusations of racism in the origin, creation and perception of the project.

This space, which lasted well over the expected time, had over 5,000 users pouring in to hear commentary, notably spearheaded by the Cryptopunks holder Ryder_Ripps. During the Space, there were a lot of people already casting doubts into the purpose of it, and defending BAYC.

Rn there’s a Twitter spaces going on with 5k people listening to a bunch of white apologists crying about #bayc being racist “because apes” 🤣 You can’t make this shit up. https://t.co/m6Ga7Mr76n

— divin.ethᵍᵐ (@p0k3rN3rd) January 3, 2022

the "#bayc is racist" guys just want to create enough of a storm so some normie publication can be like "wow, we hate NFTs and need ANYTHING to be able to shit on NFTs, this gives us that" p sad

— loomdart.eth (@loomdart) January 3, 2022

This is the stupidest room we’ve ever been in. Below 0 IQ. Apparently BAYC is a racist CIA project to funnel money to the alt right because “monkeys”. And they’re serious too. Lonely sad souls screaming into the void over each other who have time to do nothing on a Monday. pic.twitter.com/dsvamjEBMq

— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) January 3, 2022

Guy: “I am black and I don’t think BAYC is racist” Host: “I am Jewish and and I am telling you it is” pic.twitter.com/zNUC5uAd1Y

— BowTiedNightOwl (🦉🔪🤡) (@BowTiedNightOwl) January 3, 2022

"BAYC is racist you guys" pic.twitter.com/aAcQmHHQpk

— bivens.eth (@bivnft) January 3, 2022

Following the space's closure, a trending hashtag began to pick up steam relating to the Bored Apes and the supposedly racist connotations associated with it. According to those making the claims, the main connections to racism come from the name of the creator, Yuga Labs, as the name itself is associated with other white supremacist and racist caricatures found online. There is also the issue of several of the apes and iconography related to the apes also having roots in the Nazi SS and alt-right symbolism.

imagine defending this passionately. pic.twitter.com/etKi5nSz7D

— RYDER RIPPS and 861 others liked (@ryder_ripps) January 3, 2022

That NFT shit seem racially motivated cause why is it all monkeys

— BASED SAVAGE (@crackcobain__) January 2, 2022

@BoredApeYC is made by Yuga-Labs. Yuga is part of the Alt right/boogaloo meme “Surf the Kali Yuga” connect the dots. Please wake up pic.twitter.com/ftJS34Est5

— Leander Capuozzo (@leandercapuozzo) January 3, 2022

nothing weird at all that the grinning apes are made by a guy whos name is an anti semitic joke and whos company name is a nazi obsession.. totally normal. pic.twitter.com/XQbNJ6tM6c

— RYDER RIPPS and 861 others liked (@ryder_ripps) January 3, 2022

why are there bananas in the shape of swastikas in the BoredApeYC</a> game? and rats <a href="https://twitter.com/HYPEBEAST?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">HYPEBEAST pic.twitter.com/kJ0TByWUwi

— RYDER RIPPS and 861 others liked (@ryder_ripps) January 3, 2022

So when jungle freaks were accused of racist stuff the nft community was up in arms and they got cancelled but when bayc gets called out for the same stuff it gets swept under the rug bc they’re more popular and worth significantly more?Makes sense pic.twitter.com/jR5hymXL1w

— Degen (@kerneltrader) January 3, 2022

Fans of the Bored Apes, or holders of them and other associated NFT projects, were quick to dismiss the claims of racism and fight back against Ryder and others, as well as claiming that the entire thing was a planned attack by Cryptopunks, who are jealous of BAYC being the kings of the crypto space.

time to dox @ryder_ripps so bayc is racist but its sure fine to de humanize women. https://t.co/zxibCBvZrT so who created this. ryder ripps.. who bought this… pauly. dont come preaching about integrity when you have none yourself. pic.twitter.com/EfmFUaLKKj

— LOCS (@LOCSNFT) January 3, 2022

Whole time they were screaming BAYC is anti-semitic and shared nazi symbols and connotations only to find out 1 of the 4 founders is Jewish. Who's gonna ask him how he feels about that huh? Such a mature thread and reply as a whole. https://t.co/zpdi8ECPrS

— Farokh.ethᵍᵐ (@farokh) January 3, 2022

convinced ppl really just b bored & trying to find things to get offended about, there's no way any sane individual truly in their heart of hearts has looked at bayc & thought "yes this is racist"

— Ansem🃏💎 (@blknoiz06) January 3, 2022

going to be honest this BAYC drama just feels like a cheap marketing tactic from Phunks. It was cool when Phunks were anti establishment, anti centralization but at this point they are just openly attacking the top NFT projects 1 by 1.I’m dumping all my Phunks, it’s cringe.

— moon (@MoonOverlord) January 3, 2022

This the same Ryder? pic.twitter.com/eF4toF4z4U

— Loopify 🧙‍♂️ (@Loopifyyy) January 3, 2022

Following all of this drama, Yuga Labs came forward and released several statements to try and clear the air. First, they claimed that the name "Yuga," which was one of the leading connections made by Ryder and others to alt-right and white supremacist spaces online, was pulled from a Legend of Zelda game, as well as leaning heavily on MMOs and online spaces as their backbone.

A little a bit about us to start off the new year and what's coming. 🧵1. What's the inspiration behind the name Yuga Labs? We're nerds, and Yuga is the name of a villain in Zelda whose ability is that he can turn himself and others into 2D art. Made sense for an NFT company.

— Yuga Labs (@yugalabs) January 3, 2022

This still led to some BAYC holders selling their Apes and getting out, while making a huge profit in the process.

no longer a BAYC ownerhave fun nerds pic.twitter.com/G7Ik7rhJzb

— DeeZe (@DeezeFi) January 3, 2022