Who Is George Trosley? 'Jungle Freaks' NFT Artist and Elijah Wood Embroiled in Racism Row

Hollywood actor Elijah Wood, who collects NFT (non-fungible token) art, has sold his NFT pieces by cartoon artist George Trosley, some of whose previous works have been accused of being racist.

An NFT is a new digital art form similar to cryptocurrency that can be stored in a digital wallet or ledger.

According to Input, the star from the Lord of the Rings film trilogy revealed last week that he was the owner of a zombie bust from Trosley's Jungle Freaks collection in a tweet that has since been deleted.

Wood reportedly tweeted on October 27: "Loving my Golden Zombie! Thank you, @JungleFreaksNFT @TrosleyNFT !!"

But on November 1, the actor issued a statement on Twitter denouncing racism and said he sold his Trosley NFTs after learning of some of the artist's "prior disturbing cartoons."

The actor tweeted: "Upon learning of this, I immediately sold the NFTs as I wholly denounce any force of racism."

Input reported that according to Wood's publicly accessible profile on OpenSea (a marketplace for NFTs), the actor owned at least six NFTs from Trosley.

Wood said the funds from the sale of the NFTs were donated to the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) as well as the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a lengthy statement on November 2 shared on Twitter, Trosley said the illustrations he was asked to do for Hustler magazine around 40 years ago were "taken out of context."

He noted that "today's generation may not have an understanding of what was taking place in journalism and the world" during his time at the magazine.

The artist explained the illustrations were "political satire," drawn to "evoke attention and conversation" around the "social atmosphere and issues" of that time period.

Trosley stated they are in "no way a representation, who I am as a human being, nor the Jungle Freaks community.

"I sincerely apologize to anyone who feels hurt and offended by them without proper context," he added.

In a statement on November 1, Trosley's son George III (also known as "The Prince") also shared a detailed statement on Twitter, saying: "The Trosley Family does not support or condone racism."

The post stated: "The cartoons my father drew were horrible," noting that his father expressed "how ashamed he is" by the cartoons many have seen.

"There hasn't been a better time to accept responsibility, learn from it and extend our sincerest apologies," the tweet said.

Who Is George Trosley?

Born in 1947 to parents from Woodlyn, Pennsylvania, Trosley has been drawing cartoons since he was five years old but began working as a professional cartoonist 17 years later.

Many national magazines and newspapers have bought and published Trosely's "humorous art," his website describes, including several car magazines, owing to his "passion for automobilia."

In addition to Hustler, Trosely's works have been published in the Saturday Evening Post, Saturday Review, National Enquirer and New Woman.

Why Has Trosley's Artwork Faced Backlash?

Following Wood's October 27 tweet revealing his ownership of a zombie bust by Trosley, several Twitter users claimed that some of Trosley's previous pieces portray people of color in a derogatory way.

User @safemoon_whales wrote: "The fact that people are still buying @JungleFreaksNFT by George Trosley says a lot about the NFT space. Speak up leaders in the space #JUNGLEFREAKS racism."

User @0xBender tweeted: "Jungle Freaks designed a Nazi's General hat as a trait? Are you kidding me? Get this s*** off of OS, get that s*** out of your wallet, don't come in this tweet defending them. I'm done with this

"If any NFT collection deserves to be de-listed its Jungle Freaks. Make it happen," the user added.

In a reply to the aforementioned statement shared by George III, user @ZssBecker tweeted: "To be frank. I don't know where the Trosleys are in their lives and I am DEEPLY against cancel culture.

"These past drawings deeply disturb me the same way having a mutilated body in my living room would. I have or am in the process of giving away my NFTs based on this," the user wrote.

In Trosley's statement on November 2, the artist explained that when he began the Jungle Freaks project with his son, he saw it as a chance to "evolve as a creative" and "leave behind the political and often crude in humor caricatures" he was asked to create.

Trosley stated that he hopes the latest situation will lead to an "open dialogue that clarifies my past work....rather than having my art be misinterpreted as supporting racism and discrimination, which I do not condone in any manner."

Trosley's statement sparked further debate on Twitter.

User @beth_eth tweeted: "THIS IS NOT AN APOLOGY. It's literally how NOT to apologise: Sorry YOU were offended and YOU took it out of 'out of context'." The post has received nearly 200 likes at the time of reporting.

User @steveb_crypto defended the artist, tweeting: "Why can't he [Trosley] apologize while also be explaining his side? Why are the social fighters never open to hearing someone else's side? So quick to judge permanently."

Newsweek has contacted George Trosley and Wood for further comment.