Pepe Strikes Back! Smug Amphibian Meme Projected on WilmerHale Building
Cassandra Fairbanks
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Pepe is striking back! Late Tuesday evening, the mischievous frog meme appeared on the front of WilmerHale headquarters — the law firm representing Pepe’s creator.
As we have previously reported, WilmerHale is representing Pepe creator Matt Furie and has filed a cease and desist on use of the meme against Mike Cernovich, Baked Alaska, The Donald subreddit, and others — as well as threatening lawsuits.
Provided to Big League Politics by an anonymous source
Photos and video of the protest was provided exclusively to Big League Politics by an anonymous tipster. The tipster told Big League Politics that “projecting the content that WilmerHale is so desperate to censor onto its headquarters is a good way to let them know that their bullying won’t work.”
“If WilmerHale thinks it can use its status as a white-shoe DC law firm to silence speech with which its elitist clients disagree, they are sorely mistaken. I expect more things like this to happen in the future, as free speech advocates will continue to push back against WilmerHale’s Orwellian tactics,” the anonymous source added.
We reached out to Cernovich about the projection protest and he stated that he thinks it’s hilarious, even though he doesn’t consider himself a “Pepe guy.”
WilmerHale is Robert Mueller’s recent law firm and also represents clients such as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. There has previously been concerns from politicians and media about Mueller’s recent firm’s client list being in conflict with his role as a special prosecutor overseeing the Russia election meddling witch hunt.
“This Pepe image is clearly fair use, it’s protected under the First Amendment, and any lawsuit threat is frivolous,” Cernovich previously wrote of the lawsuit. He added that “this lawsuit threat is frivolous, and moreover, contains a knowing falsehood. The letter links to an article where I specifically disclaim any involvement with the alt-right. Thus this lawyer has committed fraud by lying about my being ‘alt-right.’”
Provided to Big League Politics by an anonymous source
Originally from the comic series Boy’s Club by Furie, Pepe gained popularity in 2008 with the “feels good man” reaction image. From there sad, smug, angry, and a variety of other reaction-Pepes were born. The comic frog has been a staple of internet culture ever since. It gained more popularity on the right after Hillary Clinton declared war on the cartoon frog during her campaign.
The anthropomorphic frog is a popular meme that originated, along with many other popular memes – from Doge to Scumbag Steve – on 4chan message boards. It is widely used across party lines by those who enjoy internet culture. While it has become a sort of unofficial mascot for those on the right, and certainly has been used by some who aim to offend, it is still just a reaction meme.
Provided to Big League by an anonymous source
Anonymous sources have confirmed to Big League Politics that there are additional protests planned against the law firm. Feels good, man.
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