Hasbro Spokeswoman Nicole Angello speaks on Derpy in Gawker Article

My Little Pony 36 comments

Derpy Pants by *ryedeer-photo

Well I guess you could call it the first ‘official’ response from Hasbro, coming from a Hasbro Spokeswoman by the name of Nichole Angello who made a comment about it in a newly published Gawker Article about the whole Derpy Situation. You can read the article here. The quote from Nichole is below. Gawker of course doesn’t have a good track record with the fanbase, though I’ll admit this article is somewhat neutral (as neutral as Gawker can be) and somewhat misinformed (“Bronies started on 4chan’s anarchic /b/ board as an inside joke before mutating to a very sincere fandom.” from the article, it started in /co/). I will note that the author did attempt to contact multiple ‘media’ outlets in the fandom, we along with several others got one, but considering their track record most of us threw it out. Either way, here is the only shred of information that Hasbro has given us about the whole ordeal.

“The ‘My Little Pony Friendship is Magic’ series has always been about acceptance and inclusion, and the series strives to convey that through the playful antics of a diverse cast of characters,” Hasbro spokeswoman Nicole Angello told us over email. “Some viewers felt that aspects of the episode ‘The Last Roundup’ did not stay true to the core message of friendship which is the heart and soul of the series. Hasbro Studios decided to make slight audio alterations to this single episode.” – Ms.Angello to Gawker **

** – It should be noted that information about this Ms.Angello seems to be sketchy, namely a google search with her name and the word Hasbro only reveals results from this Gawker article (namely the pony community that has repeated this information). This could very well just be a person who responses to e-mail, or something else. We are currently researching to make sure this so called person does indeed work for Hasbro. Obviously its also odd that they would talk to Gawker, a site that has basically done nothing but make fun of this community, and not the community itself. As for people commenting on it saying “make a slight audio alteration”, that’s typically called a political side step, its true, but its not the full story.

Thanks to an anon comment here, seems the issue with people being unable to find info about this person is because Gawker typo’d her name. Its Nicole Agnello, not Angello. A quick google search of the correct name with the word Hasbro will bring up multiple articles, namely about Mr. Potato Head’s 60th birthday. So with that, I’d call this legit.

 

[03/02/2012] : Comment Section is now closed. There is a central page for DerpyGate located here.

Tags: ,

  • My main issue with this statement is that there were more than just “slight audio alterations.” Last time I checked, modifying the animation itself (the eyes) isn’t considered audio.

    I was really hoping (and I guess, I continue to hope) for an actual, informative statement and a less “lawyer-safe” “It didn’t promote friendship” statement. But I doubt that will happen.

    I mean when you think about it, if the series is in fact “about acceptance and inclusion,” then it actually makes less sense to remove a character who is different and make her more “normal.”

    But I also see where Hasbro is coming from. In addition to changing Derpy’s voice, they “toned down” Rainbow Dash’s attitude towards Derpy. And honestly, though I disagree, I can see why they did this. Because if you *did* consider the original Derpy to be mentally handicapped, then Dash’s attitude towards her (though in-character) could have been considered “not inclusive,” as she literally tells her to sit there and do nothing.

    So bascially, I can see how Hasbro was really in a bind here. No matter what they did, they were going to have some people complaining, and loudly.

    I think it’s best to just move on. Hopefully next weekend the new episode will help us forget all this Derpy drama.

    • Fanloser

      And she did say that it was only for this single episode.

      • So if they came into your home and took your child with disabilities away and when she returns she speaks differently and looks differently you’d be ok with that?

        It doesn’t matter if it was one episode or 100 – There was nothing wrong with Derpy – there’s nothing wrong with being different or having a disability!

        The ‘correction’ they’ve put in place is worse than the original material. Stop acting as if people are at fault for caring about others.

        People with disabilities don’t need correction. They need love. Derpy didn’t need to be changed. She needed tolerance and there was none.

    • You are the most sense-making opinion I have read on the subject.

      My sister, she has Down syndrome, and I LOVE MLP and I’m a spanish speaker; I didn’t know (until five hours ago) that words like “derp” or “derpy” had a negative connotation… so I was, and I am, happy that a character that had cognitive disabilities was shown on tv (though the episode has not been aired on Latin America yet. But the first voicing that Tabitha did was quite exagerate and the attitude that rainbow showed was not appropriate for little girls to imitate… toning down Derpy’s characteristics (that still transmit somehow that she is not “normal”) was ok. Even if “retards” (my sister among them) don’t understand that are being mocked at (wich is some trolls argument)little bully girls do, and I do.
      Sites like 4chan, and similar, usually smtimulate mockery to handicaped people… is it acceptable to show on the to kids that kind of behavior? no! troll bronys have to accept that kids are the main target of the series and that acceptance of different talents and personalities, and friendship are the main elements of the show… isn’t our motto “love and tolerance”?

      Some people on the internet don’t have any idea of how big the impact of their opinions will be.

      • Fanloser

        Agreed, and some other bronies need to stop acting like a bunch self-entitled brats.

      • Ponyfan

        “I didn’t know (until five hours ago) that words like “derp” or “derpy” had a negative connotation”

        It doesn’t.

        And frankly, i’m getting sick of people saying it does.

        “Derp” is an invented, made-up, unofficial word. It’s a word meant only to signify when something is goofy, silly, or zany.

        “Derp” does not mean retarded. It’s just a silly sounding unofficial word made up for it’s silly sound. Anyone taking it to mean “retarded” is injecting their own delusional made-up meaning to a word that isn’t even a legitimately dictionary-accepted word, nor does represent anything specifically.

    • Supertide

      Today:

      Yeah, let’s just give up. Who cares anyway, it’s just a cartoon show, we still have the original and they didn’t edit other episodes. Let’s just forget about it.

      20 years later:

      Every character in every form of entertainment is a gray blob with a happy smile on it’s face, they do nothing just stand around in the middle of the screen and talk gibberish like the Sims. They will be boring per se but inoffensive so super-sensitive crybabies will have nothing to complain about.
      Oh, and words like “stupid”, “lame”, “retard” and “disabled” will be banned. If someone overhears you using them you will be fined.

      “You are just exaggerating” you say.
      I know it sounds extreme but if we allow these people to have their way they are not going to stop here.
      People like you who just shrug and say “oh well” every time someone wrongs them are the reason why our rights are being stripped away day by day. Imagine if people just shrugged when they heard about SOPA and ACTA.

      “But censoring Derpy is nothing like SOPA and ACTA” you say.
      Indeed, she’s far more insignificant but censoring her is still another step in the wrong direction, admittedly a minor one but for people obsessed with eradicating ‘ableism’ this was a great feat. Now they are encouraged to continue their retarded crusade and ruin everyone else’s fun.

  • Corrderio

    Let’s see here…

    about acceptance and inclusion
    lolwut? This part is a pretty good way to set the tone of the letter.

    did not stay true to the core message of friendship which is the heart and soul of the series
    Maybe I’m missing something, but this didn’t seem to make sense. Are they referring to how RD acted towards Derpy? If so how does it make it any more right with the current edit?

    slight audio alterations
    Do I need to say anything else?

  • I won’t be able to “move on” until Yamino is recognized as the second coming of Jack Thompson.

    • Anonymous

      It’s you.

      You’re everything that’s wrong with the fandom.

      • well then I hope someday “some viewers have a problem” with an aspect of something you like, so you understand.

        • Anonymous

          I don’t agree with Yamino but the amount of bronies attacking her almost makes me ashamed to be apart of this fandom.

      • Ponyfan

        @Anonymous “You’re everything that’s wrong with the fandom.”

        No.

        “Yamino is everything that’s wrong with the fandom.”

        Yes.

        Fixed your post.

  • Green45

    Well, Hasbro is to blame, then, for being idiots listening to the vocal minority. Fuck ’em and their horrible inability to actually examine a case before acting.

    • Ponyfan

      Pretty much.

  • Anonymous

    >Gawker

    nope.avi

  • because when we have friends who don’t conform to the societeys standards, it’s best to lock them in the basement, is that it Hasbro?

  • because when we have friends who don’t conform to the societeys standards, it’s best to lock them in the basement, is that it Hasbro?

    • Stepford Mares anyone?

  • What a sad mess. And why would Hasbro turn to Gawker, of all places, to get the message out. We have a great fan-based media system, if they really wanted to explain their reasons, there are any number of friendly sites, podcasts, or individuals they could have contacted.

    But Gawker- who have written three or four articles specifically to mock the fans? This whole thing just feels surreal to me.

  • Anonymous

    They could have at least kept the name of the character in.

  • OhYouFoal

    >Acceptance and Inclusion

    FOR EVERYONE BUT CLUMSY WALL EYED PONIES (Or at some tumblr artists, trolls and general whiners claimed mentally disabled) OF COURSE

  • Not to question Gawker’s credability, but… Is that actually a statement from Hasbro? It’s not block quoted (not that that means anytyhing), and isn’t My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic supposed to be in ALLCAPS from official statements?

    • *anything *credibility

  • The statement said only the audio was changed for a single episode. That isn’t true. They also changed her eyes.

    By changing her eyes they are saying that having crossed eyes are somehow offensive? That people with disabilities are offensive?

    The original material was not as offensive as this!

  • Anonymous

    Can anyone verify the authenticity of that “official statement?” I’m not saying Gawker made it up, but I wouldn’t put it past some trolls to impersonate a Hasbro employee because, well, it’s happened before.

    And also it just seems strange that we’d here the first official news on the Derpy change from Gawker, of all places.

  • J-bob

    Including a pony that’s clumsy, derp-eyed, and had an adorable voice wasn’t staying true to the “Accepting” core nature?

  • Anonymous

    Some of us cannot take this article as word from Hasbro. It can’t be confirmed whether or not this “spokeswoman” even exists.

    And if this is truth (which is very heavily doubted) then Hasbro threw a significant portion of the MLP:FiM fanbase under the bus tonight.

    • I will note that we are looking into that, it does seem kind of strange.

      • Anonymous

        Thanks at least for that. No matter how this turns out, your site’s got a new fan from this. :)

      • Anonymous

        D0x found on a Nicole AGNello, not ANGello. Typo is assumed. For now, this is all we have to go on.

        • Based on this I’m going to call it legit then. I assumed it was since a site like Gawker (or really any site) can’t really fake things like that. You -can- but Hasbro can also shove a lawyer up your ass.

          It’d be like if I posted that the pony toys are made from toxic material and will give you cancer just by touching them. Its defamation of their product.

          Not that Hasbro would bother with a small site like this, but per say if Gawker did it.

          Still sucks they’re talking to Gawker and not us.

  • Kagusaki

    “Some viewers felt that aspects of the episode ‘The Last Roundup’ did not stay true to the core message of friendship which is the heart and soul of the series.”

    So by editing Derpy’s true self to make her acceptable to a minority of audience is considered a message of friendship? Why not just accept Derpy for who she is and not force the poor pony to change just to “fit in”. What will that teach the viewers? That we should force ourselves to change just so others will accept us as friends? It sounds like those viewers who complained were discriminating Derpy because of the way she is. I have a memory problem and I need a notepad on me so I can write down what I need to remember. I also can’t find my way around whenever I drive to a place where I’ve never been before even if I have a map. I’m not perfect and neither is anypony here so why should Derpy have to be perfect?

    Just remember what Twilight have said in a previous episode “Never judge a book by its cover. Someone may look unusual, or funny, or scary. But you have to look past that and learn who they are inside. Real friends don’t care what your “cover” is; It’s the contents of a pony that count. And a good friend, like a good book, is something that will last forever.”

    Those who complained should listen to Twilight Sparkle and accept Derpy for being her true self.

    What Hasbro needs to do is have an episode that focuses on Derpy and how she tries to change herself just so she can be accepted. Then at the end, the ponies can tell her that they love her the way she is and she shouldn’t force herself to be somepony who she isn’t just to have friends. True friends will accept you no matter how derpy you are.

  • We are still brony, but we are something more now. We are a group of people who stand apart but still within our community. We love and tolerate their position while they seem to not care or disagree with ours.

    I say caring about people who are different and caring about people with disabilities is not wrong. Everyone does not have to be the same – diversity means appreciating people/characters as they are – they do not require correction.

    We are proud of our differences. We love our Derpy. We are brony but now more than ever….. WE ARE DERPY!!!!

  • derpymaths

    *sigh* .. what a mess!

  • Anonymous

    There is NO way this can be called legit just yet, why Gawker of all places?, why now?. Until i see the full unedited emails supposedly sent by Nicole Angello, or there is a proper release from Hasbro via one of there own outlets, i cannot consider this to be legit.

    For all we know the emails could have said anything, also the way the article presented is also of concern, while reasonably well written, its obviously openly biased, it makes unfair remarks purposefully manipulating words to make bronies be seen negatively as much as possible, to the point of outright lies.

    Why on earth would Hasbro reply to ONLY adrian’s emails and not the other hundreds of thousands that people also sent?.

    Think about it, this just does not add up.