The March 29 to March 31 WonderCon and July 25 to July 29 San Diego Comic-Con, both run by the non-profit organization Comic-Con International, yanked the press pass of Gary “Nerdrotic” Buechler who was set to cover the events for his 1 million subscribers on YouTube, the YouTuber recently revealed on an April 3 livestream.
Appearing with Chris Gore and X-Ray Girl, Nerdrotic noted he was in the process of trying to “fix it”: “By the way, yeah, just want to point out… I’m not making an issue of this, I just want to make it clear, no issue right now, but my press pass got pulled [from San Diego]… We’re trying to fight it, we’re trying to fix it.”
Are anti-woke YouTubers being blacklisted by conventions?
Giving the benefit of the doubt, Nerdrotic — who has previously covered Comic-Con events with a press pass — generously allowed that he might have been at fault, stating, “[I]t might be because I filled something out wrong, so it might be my fault, just want to say.”
Nerdrotic’s announcement came on the heels of the Chicago-based April 26 to April 28 C2E2 convention — separately run by Reed Exhibitions — canceling an exhibitor appearance by Inglorious Rex and Starlight Cats creator Shane Davis, Godlike and Graveyard Shift creator Jon Malin and Cyberfrog creator Ethan Van Sciver, revealed by Davis and Malin on a March 30 livestream, alleging event-related harassment that could not have even occurred because the event had not happened yet and the trio had not yet attended the event.
Days later, on April 5, C2E2 also pulled the press pass of popular YouTuber Anna That Star Wars Girl, telling her that her audience was supposedly not “diverse” enough.
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In an April 5 livestream, Nerdrotic reacted to the news of the C2E2 cancelations when the viewer Knightpryde brought it to his attention via a super chat, with Nerdrotic blasting the C2E2 convention, saying, “Why? That’s f**ked up. Yeah, I don’t think anybody should be banned from a comic con. I think if anybody wants to go, they should go.”
Nerdrotic again took the opportunity to reveal more details about his own press pass being canceled, not just from San Diego Comic-Con, but also WonderCon which had just come and gone in March, and renewing his call for Anna That Stars Wars Girl and other creators to be allowed to go to C2E2, saying, “As of now I had a press pass to WonderCon and Comic-Con, which were the same ones, and I don’t anymore… I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know, but they should be allowed to go.”
Nerdrotic also said he was trying to obtain verification about the circumstances surrounding his own press pass being pulled, saying, “I lost my press pass to San Diego now I’m not making an issue of it because I need to find out if it’s like something I filled out wrong… and I can verify that, like, because I know somebody. So, I can verify if that’s exactly what happened… and even if they did, I don’t know if I’d make an issue of it. I don’t know if I’d give a f**k.”
As of press time, Nerdrotic could not be reached for comment via X.com, but I did ask if there was any update from San Diego Comic-Con on restoring the press pass, and to see what Comic-Con International’s stated justification for pulling the press pass was in the first place.
It’s entirely possible Nerdrotic simply missed my direct message, but if he still wishes to comment, I would be happy to submit an update to this story.
It is encouraging to see that Nerdrotic said he was trying to fight to get the press pass restored or at least to find out why it had been pulled. But on the other hand, he also stated “I don’t know if I’d make an issue it.”
But maybe Nerdrotic should make an issue of it.
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If a YouTuber with 1 million viewers who has previously reported on these conventions in a critical light as credentialed press can be silenced, then so too can other, smaller outlets be removed at similar venues, now seen by the Shane Davis, Jon Malin, Ethan Van Sciver and Anna That Star Wars Girl cancelations at C2E2. The precedent matters.
Will anti-woke, anti-cancel culture YouTubers and independent creators stand up to this discrimination? Will they protest? Or speak out? Or just take it?
The fact is, all of these conventions — WorldCon, C2E2 and Comic-Con — take place on government-owned properties, and even if as privately run events that temporarily license those properties, they need not provide press or exhibitor access, the venues themselves still must provide some degree of First Amendment protections for public demonstrations, leafleting and the like around the events, even if it’s on the sidewalk outside the event.
Unfortunately, public accommodations laws in Illinois and California, unlike, say, Washington, D.C., do not explicitly protect political or social viewpoints, making legal challenges difficult, even if these cases turn out to be clear examples of viewpoint discrimination.
On the other hand, weakness is provocative, and doing nothing, even if the available options are not great, might make it more likely that other creators and journalists lose exhibits and press passes at conventions in the future, especially if the largest voices end up meekly accepting this kind of discrimination. Again, the precedent matters.
By writing this, I might need to consider my own underlying fear of speaking up about the issue, fearing future blowback from conventions perhaps, which certainly enters the equation about whether to provide coverage.
This could, in turn, cause a chilling effect on speech and reports that might raise awareness about the seeming blacklisting of YouTubers and other creators by these conventions to the public at large, including elected officials who are in a position to amend public accommodations laws.
Maybe if I don’t write anything, I can fly under the radar in hopes of going to these conventions undetected, even if they are discriminating against my peers. But that’s wrong.
Certainly, past incidents of the Fandom Pulse’s own Jon Del Arroz and Comicsgater Dark Lord Mad Ruth being canceled from prior conventions in 2018 and 2022, respectively, coupled with this latest round of cancelations, show a definitive pattern of discrimination that in my opinion deserves public scrutiny.
I personally believe these are civil rights violations, even if public accommodations laws have not yet caught up to the times to protect against viewpoint discrimination.
And this is going to keep happening — unless we fight back.
The truth is, you never get the modern civil rights movement or laws if Rosa Parks doesn’t refuse to change her bus seat in 1955 in Montgomery, Ala. At some point, somebody has to say no.
Robert Romano is a contributor to the Fandom Pulse and the Editor-in-Chief of Comicsgate.org
What are your thought on Nerdrotic and his press pass being removed from San Diego Comic-Con? Leave a comment and let us know.
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Yes it’s no surprise this is old news this is why Eric at SDCC was such a big deal.
Terrible journalism