When it comes to social media, artistic credit can get lost in the mix of retweets and copy/paste. As a matter of fact, social piracy swallowed our friend Alex Uncapher, a Minnesota DJ, who has that magical photoshop-freeform-pen touch and knows his way around a man bun. Don’t mean to burn your iris’ but we’re willing to bet you’ve spotted this photo waltzing itself around your Twitter feed.
Why are we talking about it again? Because here at The Social Lights, we serve social justice. And Alex’s Twitter handle is not @FigDrewton.
On a photoshop whim, Alex (@slamdunkapher) gave Trump a sensual man bun and his friend in New York posted it on his Facebook page, September 29th. Shortly thereafter, Alex posted the photo on his own Facebook behalf (see timeline below).
Following this, the photo traveled from Facebook to Instagram to Imgur: and a fellow by the handle @FigDrewton saw the photo and tweeted it out to his 3,000 followers a day after, September 30. You get it, proof is in the Facebook pudding.
The man bun went viral, sledding its way through Mashable, Wired, Huffington Post, E-Online, Maxim, Nylon, Bustle, Buzzfeed, MTV and (you get it, everywhere) as the famous “photo that can’t be unseen.” Did @slamdunkapher receive any credit for branding this visual into our hearts? Nope! @FigDrewton did, with no mention of where it came from. Social piracy rears its ugly head, again. In a world full of Josh Ostrovsky’s this is our virtual ploy to pay homage to the true creators. We chat with the real Trump Man Bun creator below:
TSL: What inspired you to man-bun Trump?
ALEX: After a bunch of friends and I made fun of a horribly amazing man bun article, a buddy of mine, Jim Frickle joked about Donald Trump with a man bun… I couldn’t resist it.
TSL: What has been your favorite reaction thus far?
ALEX: Definitely GQ saying that Donald Trump photoshopped with a man bun is “the glorious/awful cultural artifact 2015 deserves.”
TSL: How do you feel about everyone (i.e Mashable, Huffington Post etc) taking credit of your fashionable creation?
ALEX: Honestly I don’t mind the idea of this kind of thing staying anonymous but I really don’t want to see someone else getting credit for making it. I think it’s amazing that it got as big as it did!
TSL: Have you reached out to @FigDrewton? How would you want justice to be served?
ALEX: I actually did tweet at him a few days ago that it was time to let the world know that he didn’t make Donald Trump with a man bun. The only response I received was him following me, lol. Judging by the rest of his social media that I looked up it doesn’t seem like he has too much going on so I don’t blame him for running with this as long as possible.
TSL: Do you photoshop photos often? We’re kind of itching to see what else you have on docket (no pressure at all, wink, wink).
ALEX: I’ve been messing around with photoshop forever and have made a bunch of random things for fun and party promos. Here’s a goofy Snoop Dogg one from a year or two ago.
TSL: Final thoughts: three words to describe the man bun GO.
ALEX: Better. Off. Bald.
There it is folks, the real Trump Man Bun creator has stood up.
Signing off,
Brittany
