Evidence of Transphobia

by Vivienne Medrano/Vivziepop

Table of Contents

Introduction
The “White Trender” Documents
The Kendraw Documents
Dollcreep and Jojo
Salem’s testimony/allegations of Transphobia at Spindlehorse
Transmasc characters in Helluva Boss
Rebuttals and concerns
Conclusion

Introduction

This document is to archive various transandrophobic/transmisandrist (that is to say, transphobia aimed towards transmasc people specifically) statements and actions made by Vivienne Medrano/Vivziepop over the last several years. The hope is to demonstrate that these incidents are not one-off instances of poor judgment or lost context, but a repeating pattern of toxic behavior that remains consistent to this day.

In addition, the purpose of this document is not to try to “ruin Vivzie” or to suggest that no one is allowed to engage with her works, but to present the evidence in as straightforward a manner as possible.

The “White Trenders” Logs

“Why aren’t you just being proud to be female?”

A[All messages are sent by Vivziepop, with an icon of Moe from the Simpsons, and the nickname Vivzie.

n fff i really hope i can word this to not sound like

bigoted of anything cuz like, ffff its just something iv noticed

MOST of the ones i see are white girls, who claim to be like, trans men, but like, they dont, at all try, n are obv trenders, but most of them are like eh loudest feminists n loudest like gay advocates, but they like are usually into girls, so im like...... why are you trying to be a whit cis man then??? LOLOL

IDK literally just something i noticed, im sure its not like

the vast case

but

why

like i legit dont understand, ist like, why do you strive to be what you hate LOLOL is it cuz you think they are teh most privledge group???

n you wanna be that?]

[All messages are sent by Vivziepop, with an icon of Moe from the Simpsons, and the nickname Vivzie.

aw man

theres one artist who like

was a huge fan of mine, so i was so proud of seeing how amazing they were doing, going to cal arts getting all these jobs

but their one of those people who got like HELLA SJW, became agender, n now is depressed as well, but ina very dangerous way, like -they remind me of thos prividge white girls who just decide to be trans all of a sudden. and obv i dont know if thats teh case or ir they REALLY have dysforia, but their like attitude just makes it seem like they dont.

but their the ones who like raged about the shamalan movie n claimed to have over 23 identities n shit

which i was lik

ok no bs

but they made a kickstarter for a cartoon they wanna make n, its the most offputting thing iv ever seen hahaa

A message is blacked out with a black rectangle.

i know im obligated to like share it, but im like...

i dont wanna do that LOL (edited)

its just sad, like seeing the progrssion of someone

tahts usually my dsitinguisher of like

yehhhh

your not actually struggling with this

their like ashamed of being female, but then hey are like

th loudest feminists

i SO wanna be like

why arent you just being proud to be female?

whas wrong with it

buddy]

These logs were obtained in May of 2023 from a source who wishes to remain anonymous. They were viewed in Discord compact mode, which accounts for the strangeness of the formatting, and while they were initially viewed with skepticism, it was pointed out that the Discord pfp used by Vivzie at the time (Moe from The Simpsons) was consistent with this one seen in a conversation with Sam regarding the release of Queen Bee in June of 2023.

[A discord conversation between Vivziepop and a user called Sam. Vivziepop has an icon of Moe from the Simpsons, and a nickname of Vivzie. Sam has an icon of a light yellow cartoon horse holding a pink object, and has the nickname of Sam with a sun emoji.

Sam: IM SO SORRY, IM LAUGHING SO HARD, NO ONE KNOWS WHAT 205 MEANSSSSSS

They attach a screenshot of a tweet made by Vivziepop, which reads:

"I think it's safe to say we can FINALLY bring you all of Helluva's original 8th episode this SATURDAY (sparkle emoji, heart emoji) I can't wait to have this one out! Thank you for the patience and understanding (sparkle heart emoji) 20t will be right around the corner too! (devil emoji) lots of #HelluvaBoss fun this summer!"

The tweet has an image attached, but it is cropped.

Vivzie: I DIDNT KNOW HOW ELSE TO DESCRIBE IT

Vivzie: IM SO DUMB

Sam: LMFAOOOOO

Sam: I SAW IT AND WAS LIKE

Sam: 205

Sam: THE TECHNICAL NAME

Vivzie: LOOK.]

A tumblr user unrelated to the leaking of these logs or the writing of this document, Vazelbeak, performed their own analysis of the logs. Their findings are as follows.

[A screenshot of the second image in photoshop with blue lines over it.

Anyways I ran one of the exported discord messages through photoshop to look for any signs of edits being made bc i had the time and while not fool proof would be able to catch easy indicators of a photoshop job

1. Contrast and brightness dont show any off colors or pixels to indicate these as overlayed or drawn in text suggesting edits

2. I added rulers to check alignment and the measurement of the letters aligns with the pfp, and the spacing of Vivs name (bc that couldve been photoshopped over) is exactly the same. And it would be hard to fake this level of consistent alignment in a photoshop job without some kind of proof

3. Take note of the Moe icon. Now the post i found originally leaking these was made by Chaifootsteps on (start bold) May 12 (end bold). Until then to my knowledge Vivs pfp was of Blitz.

But then we have these messages

(A screenshot of the third image, taken on mobile)

showing her changed pfp to the same thing which was posted on (start bold) june 21st (end bold) on Vivs twitter.

meaning on top of consistent alignment and no pixels indicating edits made, these messaging showed her pfp as having been changed before we saw it also suggesting these are recent messages.

I cant find any signs of a photoshop job, and these being leaked first with the same pfp makes it hard to say someone could've just known of Vivs pfp change prior. Regardless of your feelings about Vivs work and its quality, I know she's said she hates terfs but transphobia can take many forms. Check them yourself if you feel inclined but most importantly please spread this so we can get the explanation we deserve.]

As Vazelbeak says, transphobia can take many forms, and it’s entirely possible to hate terfs or claim that one does while still subscribing to terf viewpoints. If these were old documents or the only questionable things Vivzie had ever said, then it might be argued they were forged or outdated, in which case one would think Vivzie would be the first to address them. When these screenshots came to her attention, however, Vivzie’s only response was to threaten legal action.

The KenDraw Logs

Ken/KenDraw is a former friend of Vivzie, and one who has written up their own document on their experiences with her (along with a subsequent rebuttal.) The two have been in dispute for some time over the ownership of certain content and ideas; however, the purpose of this document is not to delve into said dispute or answer the question of who owns what. It is simply to point out Vivzie’s intentional, malicious misgendering of Ken, whose trans identity she was at this point in time well aware of, as Ken has been out and openly gone by they/them pronouns since 2012.

How do we know that Vivzie knew? Because of this conversation between Ken and Vivzie, during a more convivial time in their relationship. In it, Ken expresses thoughts about dysphoria, their own dysphoria, and their identity, to which Vivzie responds that she believes being transgender is “incredibly rare. VALID as hell, but rare.”

[Discord messages between Ken and Vivziepop, the profile pictures have been cropped out.

Ken (Date: 04/11/2017 7:02 PM)

I just want people to respect me and understand that I'm in the wrong body like

I have had dysphoria since I was 4 years ol

you wanna know how I figured I had dysphoria? I thought everyone was genderless

I didn't LIKE what I had but I was like

well if this is the default

once I found out that boys and girls had different parts I was

PISSED

like "wait

what

this isn't the default?"

"this is fucking GARBAGE."

I'd ask a llot of the time if I could like

get stuff removed and people would laugh it off

cus I wanted the abscence, I just didn't want to be either

Vivzie (Date: 04/11/2017 7:06 PM)

I honestly beleive its incredibly rare, VALID as hell, but rare

n people are taking it and turning it into somehting else so it can fit them

since they arent actually struggling with it

they can bend to so that they are]

In the following conversations with a redacted source, Vivzie occasionally refers to Ken with the correct pronouns (they/them) and at other points disregards them entirely.

[Discord messages between a blacked out user and Vivziepop. Vivziepop has an icon of a character in the style of Helluva Boss. The timestamp says 03/14/2020.

Vivzie: they seem to think anything they suggest to me is something their entitled too

BLOCKED OUT: or are they just avoiding you?

Vivzie: no they just went silent afer my lawyer adviced/tweaked the contract for them

Vivzie: we have been doing all we can to try to convince her its a safe thing to sign

Vivzie: she seems to want to cite our rps and chatlogs

Vivzie: to poinpoint the ideas she came up with, even tho they are like

Vivzie: abitrary and nothing of substance

BLOCKED OUT: jesus christ

Vivzie: she's suggest me shit id then do entirely different

Vivzie: btu shes so insane she thinks shes entitled to that

Vivzie: n she thinks if i sell the show the studio woudl want our rps n her characters

Vivzie: even tho the contract says SOLEY HAZBIN

Vivzie: she

BLOCKED OUT: but yeah once this is all blown over I'm happy to unfollow. They've always given me vibes

Vivzie: she's unreasonable and insane

Vivzie: so im scared

Vivzie: n yeh

Vivzie: def

Vivzie: they are a monster

Vivzie: i beleive their victim now

Vivzie: the one who came out

Vivzie: i feel liek a fucking asshole for not and for standing by them

BLOCKED OUT: when you're friends with someone it's easy to not see the flags

Vivzie: i thought "well i know she isnt healthy, ill keep at arms length"

Vivzie: but now she has my project hostage and im

Vivzie: im like wow i was foolish

Vivzie: even arms lentgh she wound a way to hurt me]

[Discord messages between a blacked out user and Vivziepop. Vivziepop has an icon of a character in the style of Helluva Boss. The timestamp says 03/14/2020.

Vivzie: ye

Vivzie: im just like

Vivzie: i know everyone is behind -me-

Vivzie: teh scary reality is just that they need to sign

Vivzie: them, their friend ray, and then ne other mutual who i do trust to do the right thing

Vivzie: but shes scaring me with how much shes seeming to side with ken

Vivzie: ken has convinced her to confront me over abritray character similarities too, which is something ken would do constantly

Vivzie: like if you had let her in i garentee u

Vivzie: shed accuse you of -something-

Vivzie: its what she does

BLACKED OUT: jesus christ

Vivzie: she finds anything she can

Vivzie: she came at me for fucking]pentious's hat

Vivzie: during production

Vivzie: n was like

Vivzie: MMM fools hat emotes

Vivzie: me: .........................and?

Vivzie: LMAO

Vivzie: like

Vivzie: they are -that- person]

A later conversation between Ken and an anonymous party confirms this.

[Discord messages between a blacked out user and Ken. Ken has an icon of a slug's face. The timestamp says 07/04/2022.

Ken: did she ever misgender me to you?

Ken: i feel like a hypocrite

Ken: contacting you about her

Ken: reaching out to you through silence only to bring her up

Ken: I feel awful

Ken: I feel a lot of things right now

Ken: I feel like a bad person and friend

Ken: I'm sorry

BLACKED OUT (Timestamp is 10:44 PM): I will be honest ken, and I hope this doesnt hurt you because it was never meant to, but she did, and I let her because she apologized a (the screenshot is cut off) biggest meltdown of her life. I'm also letting you know because you asked and I want to be honest, not to throw her under the bus bec (the screenshot is cut off) clear through our calls

I'm really sorry

BLACKED OUT: It feels like a huge betrayal on my part to say that, even if me and her arent friends, but I feel guilty I let it happen, I do]

According to this source, Vivzie was in the throes of a panic attack at the time and apologized later on. However…

[Discord messages between a blacked out user and Ken. Ken has an icon of a slug's face. The timestamp says 07/04/2022.

Ken: it doesn't matter, she misgendered me to multiple people

Ken: I think cuz she sees me as a girl or something who knows

BLACKED OUT: Well seeing she talked to others using "she" to refer to you, with no indication of panic in her typing or even an apology, she was probably disregarding you (the screenshot is cut off) say that, probably because I never considered her transphobic. I want to say its her distaste for you over anything else but man its bad

BLACKED OUT: its just no excuse

Ken: using the correct pronouns isn't a reward for good behaviour

a trans persons identity isn't meant to be ignored or throw out when you have a problem with them

Ken: she is transphobic]

The same person immediately states that Vivzie referred to Ken as “she” when talking to others, without any indication of panic and without an apology, and that it probably was meant to be a dig at Ken’s identity born out of personal distaste for them.

Proof of this can be found below. Please note that this chat is between a third party, distinct from any mentioned previously, and the calmer tone.

[Discord messages from Vivziepop. Vivziepop has an icon of a character in the style of Helluva Boss. The timestamp says 12-Mar-20.

Vivzie: i dont even know anymore, idk if ken wants that idk what she wants

(Black square)

Vivzie: no, silence

(Black square)

Vivzie: theres no way to force her to physically sign, she needs to do it n she needs to be convinced to do it

Vivzie: im

Vivzie: just

Vivzie: we are gonna try to propose a call with my lawyer to directly try to elliviate her worries about like

Vivzie: what falls under what

Vivzie: im just scared cuz idk what of mine she wants to lay claim too

Vivzie: speaking of it, just since im getting them all here it is for you, but im yeh

Vivzie: im

Vivzie sends an image of the contract. The words are indistinct and hard to read, but possible.]

It’s clear that Vivzie dislikes Ken on a personal level, knew them well, and could have insulted them in just about any other way, but she made the very pointed and deliberate choice to lash out at Ken’s identity. She did this with multiple people, over and over again.

That’s not a heat-of-the-moment misstep. It’s simply transphobia.

Dollcreep/Jojo

Jojo was a character in Vivzie’s webcomic, Zoophobia, and meant to be a kind of foil for Vivzie’s self-insert, Jayjay. That she’s meant as an unflattering caricature of Jo/Dollcreep is apparent from the name and the bad blood between the two at this point, but taken alongside KediKatzen’s account and the tendency to strike at the identity of trans people she dislikes, what we get instead is a deeply unfortunate picture of Vivzie.

The following is a message received on August 22nd, 2023. It concerns an anonymous accusation that Vivziepop once made a feminized caricature of a transmasc person she no longer got along with, which was answered by a different user who was around at the time of the incident.

[Tumblr ask sent by user kedikatzen.

kedikatzen asked:

Howdy, Kedi here. The character in question is Jojo, she drew it to be a parody of Dollcreep (Jo). She and Dollcreep were on bad terms at the time, they used to be close friends but there's a lot to get into there - regardless, the fight had nothing to do with Doll being a transman, but that's what Viv chose to make fun of when she made a parody of him. She'd also told him directly that she didn't think he was "really trans" because he had posed topless for some artistic photos as a model (because someone who went to art school apparently never encountered nude models). She later apologised for getting into a public fight with him, but the fact that she chose to attack him by trying to hit that nerve is telling, especially when her old SVA classmates came forward ages ago about her deadnaming them on purpose and she continues to show that pattern of behaviour.

I talked to Jo a while ago, we weren't friends but we talked briefly, but he was very upfront to me about how he got swept up in drama those years back and got carried away and regrets a lot of it. All he wanted was to be able to move on, but Viv made that impossible for him.]

A message from an anonymous source tells the same story.

[A Discord message, the username and subsequent names censored out with black bars.:

The first offensive character design was played off as a “random XD” character design towards the “haters” criticizing her wolf OCs. Thus, Jojo/Joss was born.

Jojo’s existence was meant to squeeze every ounce of transphobic slime it could to attack and mock [REDACTED]. JoJo/Joss got her name from the nickname [REDACTED] used to go by before he transitioned. It’s literally using his dead name. JoJo’s name is also a play on-on of Jiji/JayJay’s name. Jiji is what [REDACTED] originally called the blue werewolf before she was purchased by Vivziepop.

In Jojo’s description, Vivzie mocks how [REDACTED] talked, wrote, acted, and dressed before he transitioned. She made Jojo a pathetic bumbling idiot to mock how she felt about [REDACTED], thinking he was dumb and abusive for basically calling her out on stealing and bullying people. Vivzie writes Jojo to be JayJay’s arch nemesis and a nobody who was an outcast from Vivzie’s clan of Party Dagws. There were even offensive comics made of Jojo. All the people who participated in those comic dubs have no idea what Vivzie was actually doing.]

This, for the record, is what Jojo looks like.

[A character sheet. The background is black. Text at the top left reads:

(in purple) Jo-Jo (the second O is a heart and is crossed out by a red X)

(in red) Nick: (in purple) Jow

(in a yellow-red-yellow-purple gradient) Sex: (female symbol)

Species: Sparkle Dog/Werewolf

Powers: Causing seizures and blindness

(and gorilla arm strength)

Anime: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

In the bottom right, it reads:

(In a purple-blue-green-yellow-green gradient)

Voice: Iggy Azalea

Lineage: Cybergoths

Blood Type: Rainbow

Leiks: Attention, Google Space, Raves, Weed Hashtags, Bad Music

Disleik: Normies, The "Man", People who get more attention, White Cis Male, Puns, Friendship, Learning, Listening, Good Music

In the middle is a drawing of a sparkle dog. They have white fur, with rainbow hair. The hair is not a gradient. They have one eye showing, and it is yellowish with red lines. They are wearing rainbow fluffy thigh socks. They have several piercings. They are wearing a dress. A more detailed version is above and to the right of the original.

In various places around the drawings are the following:

(in orange) #Natural

(in pink) #OMG

(in purple-blue-green gradient) #Flawless #Deal.

(in purple-blue gradient) #Bitchin'

(in green) #Lol Gud Luk (with an arrow pointing to the more detailed drawing)

(in blue-green gradient) #ThisIsMe

#XDDD

#ImBetterThenU]

Allegations of Workplace Transphobia at Spindlehorse

In September of 2023, former Spindlehorse artist Salem (Twitter handle squiderdoodle) spoke out in regards to their not being credited for their work on a recent episode, and in the course of the ensuing discussion, mentioned that they were repeatedly “accidentally” misgendered during their time there.

(A twitter post by Salem the Squidder/squiderdoodle. Their pfp is of a character with green skin and purple hair.

Text: What should I even expect from the employer that kept “accidentally” mis-gendering me and once went 3 months with next to no communication until I had to quit myself out of frustration…)

On October 30th and on the 31st, 2023, Salem would again allude to transphobia being a problem at Spindlehorse.

(A twitter post by Rattlesnake Jake/kingexplosion30, whose pfp is Shinji from Evangelion, with a reply by Salem/squiderdoodle.

Text:

Rattlesnake Jake: I heard transphobia there got really bad.

Salem: It was more covert to peoples faces with worse behind peoples backs.)

(A twitter post by Salem.

Text: Inconsistent work/pay, little to no communication, no direction notes, misgendering, bodyshaming, constantly shit-talking other indie shows, expecting insane crunch for way too little pay, tons of past and current employee shit talking. Kind of a log. Again-could fill a novel.)

Now, this next one is contentious, to say the least. But it’s included for the sake of completion, and so that the reader might be free to draw their own conclusions.

Animation Studio Reviews is a Google doc sheet maintained with the purpose of allowing employees in the animation industry to comment anonymously on working conditions. The studios being reviewed range from small indie operations to places like Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. In the fall of 2023, a Twitter user notoriously came forward as having fabricated a handful of Spindlehorse reviews, but not all of them.

With all that in mind, on 17/07/2023, 00:28:3, the sheet received the following review, ostensibly from a Spindlehorse concept artist.

Text: “The most dysfunctional studio I have ever worked for- bar none. Several co-workers were fine and lovely to work with, but the higher you went on the ladder, the worse people behaved. You were encouraged to endlessly praise the leads and talk down about every other indie studio. They would actively try to keep people from working for other studios- which just isn't realistic for the low pay and irregular/assignment-based payment structure they were doing. Especially when it was common to go weeks or months without any feedback or communication from the leads. Notes that did come were not clear. Revisions were unpaid. I didn't even know we had HR until after I left- and I find out he's just the director's friend so that's a nice conflict of interest there. In addition to talking down on other indie studios- leads would talk down about certain employees behind their backs. This seemed especially apparent for transmasculine and nonbinary people. Misgendering was common. There's a high turnover rate with a revolving door of young, inexperienced artists who started as fans that I now feel, in my opinion, are being exploited.”

On 05/08/2023 03:21:38, an apparent Spindlehorse animator describes their experience and reinforces the malicious misgendering of Ken.

Text: When I initially signed up to work with the spindle horse team i thought it would be an accepting place to work filled with trans allies and active LGBTQ members, I was very wrong. I was constantly misgendered and questioned by the head of animation logo. He would constantly nitpick anything and everything i did and ask me very invasive questions about my gender and physical attributes of areas id rather not talk about. It was awful to see vivzie also participating in this behaviour towards another one of my good friends Ken behind closed doors calling them slurs and intentionally not using their preferred pronouns. I would highly encourage people to not work for spindle and look for more LGBTQ friendly workplaces.

Both indicate that they would not recommend working at Spindlehorse.

Transmasc Characters in Helluva Boss

In and of itself, it would be unfair to infer that Vivzie is transandrophobic based purely on the way she treats the fictional characters she creates. Characters are tools that serve a purpose, and to create a story means to revisit and maneuver them in all kinds of ways. However, the way Vivzie treats her transgender characters is notable enough that it begs delving into here.

Imps in Helluva Boss are sexually dimorphic, and their biological sexes can be easily discerned at a glance by looking at their horns and (somewhat less reliably) by their hair. Female imps have black horns with thin white stripes on them and generally have dark hair, while male imps have white hair and thick black and white striping on their horns. It’s never been indicated in or out of universe that imps are capable of/in the habit of altering their horns, which makes it easy for audience members to spot imp characters who present differently than their assigned sex.

The character Millie has five siblings designed by former Spindlehorse employee Erin Frost, shown here in Frost’s initial submission for their designs.

[Six figures standing at a distance from each other on a grey background. Each have a colour scheme next to them.

The first is a red demon with white hair. They have straight black horns with thin white stripes, are rather thin, and are wearing a black tank top with grey trousers, and black boots. They have yellow eyes, and their tail is thin, and red and white. The ends of their arms are white. Their colour scheme is red, black, white, grey, yellow.

The second is a red demon with white hair. They have shorter horns, which are striped black and white. They are hearing a jacket with the sleeves torn off, a black shirt, trousers with a belt, gloves, and shoes. Chest hair is sticking out of the shirt. They have a white tattoo on their left arm. They have a thicker tail, which is solid black. The end of their tale has a chunk out of it. Their colour scheme is red, black, white, grey, brown, lighter grey, yellow, light grey.

The third is a red demon with white hair. Their horns are curved back, and are striped black and white. They are wearing a dirty white shirt, a bandana around their neck, gloves, and dirty trousers. They are not wearing shoes. Their tail is long and thin, and is solid red. Their colour scheme is red, black, white, dirty white, grey, darker grey, brown, darker brown, yellow.

The fourth is a short red demon with white hair. Their horns are very short, and are striped black and white. They are wearing a black shirt, a bandana around their neck, trousers, and shoes. They are quite round. Their tail is short and thin. Their colour scheme is red, yellow, black, grey, brown, white.

The fifth is a red demon with grey hair. Their horns are long and curve inward, and are striped black and white. Their hair is long and pulled into a ponytail by a red headband. They are wearing a black croptop, short-shorts, ripped tights, and white heeled books. They have a long red tail. Their colour scheme is dull red, black, red, grey, white, dirty white, black, and yellow.

The last figure is entirely grey, with the outline of shoulder length hair, a long tail that starts thick and thins out, and horns.]

As we can see by their horns, Erin intended Millie to have three cisgender brothers and two transgender siblings, one MtF, one FtM. The MtF sibling, Sallie Mae, is something of a fandom darling among Vivzie’s crew and fanbase. Despite having three lines and a screentime total of about 20 seconds, she’s treated with adoration, importance, even reverence. She has a trans voice actress (Morgana Ignis), is confirmed to have an upcoming episode centered around her and Millie, and is the subject of quite a bit of official merchandise, most of it sexual in nature. Make of that what you will. When criticized on her handling of queer characters/narratives or personal biases, Vivzie and her fans are quick to point to both Sallie Mae and Morgana, wielding both as a kind of cudgel, as seen in this tweet which Vivzie liked.

A screenshot of Vivziepop's twitter likes. The tweet highlighted has the author censored.

Timestamp says 3 hours ago

"I'm not homophobic but this trio of queer writers can't write a good queer story, also I'm not transphobic but this grown adult transwoman is too stupid to realize she's being used/fetishized" go the fuck off, ally!! So glad you're fighting for us!! (grinning face with star eyes emoji)

3 replies, 9 retweets, 34 likes, 602 hits]

This brings us back to Millie’s trans brother on the far left. He’s unnamed along with Millie’s other brothers (although Erin Frost has said she calls the big one Clifford) and unlike Sallie Mae, has no speaking role. This by itself is not the problem.

The problem is that when the episode aired, he was altered from Erin’s initial design into a cisgender male character.

[A tumblr ask, with who sent it cropped out.

Motherfucker, you know what I just noticed? The brother of Millie's that's trans as seen in Erin Frost's character sheets-- they made him cis in the actual episode. Check out the ref sheets and then the episode, timestamp 10:37-- cal me out if I'm smokin' something, but the horns are different. Dammit I'm not even going on anon I'm so pissed.

Side-by-side images, the first of the character in the show.

They are a red demon with white hair. They have straight black horns with thick white stripes, and are wearing a black tank top with grey trousers, and black boots. They have yellow eyes. The ends of their arms are white. They are holding a pumpkin.

The second image is of the same character in the character sheets. The only difference is that the white stripes are thinner]

There’s no denying it. The broader build and the lack of eyelashes could be explained away, but the horns tell the story.

(As an aside, when Erin Frost later spoke critically about Vivzie’s sexualization of Sallie Mae, she was bizarrely accused of being a transphobe who wanted Millie’s brother to be trans “instead of Sallie Mae,” disregarding the fact that Erin wanted Millie to have two trans siblings, and that Erin’s fiancee is transmasc.)

The first transmasc character in Helluva Boss to receive an actual speaking role (though not a name) is this gentleman from “Queen Bee.”

[A screenshot of Helluva Boss. The background appears to be of some sort of holiday home. In the bottom left is the outline of an animal. A character is half in screen on the right, but is cut off.

The main character is a red demon with dyed blond hair, save for a brown patch near the temple. They have black horns with thin white stripes. They are wearing a white tank top that says "VOXFL". They are wearing an animal tooth on a necklace around their neck.]

Right off the bat there’s a contrast to Sallie Mae, tall and stunning and competent and beloved by her family. Our FtM imp is presented as absolutely none of those things. He’s a bit of a fuckboy, wearing a “Voxflix and chill” tank and sporting a snaggle tooth and undyed roots. More importantly, he knows main character Blitzo by name and is therefore at least somewhat significant to the plot, but Blitzo calls him an asshole. And of course, not all trans characters need to be sex bombs adored by those around them. But the truly telling factor comes during the end credits.

Sallie Mae is voiced by a trans woman.

Shark tooth necklace’s name and VA aren’t listed in the credits at all. He seems to be voiced by Edward Bosco, a cis man.

[A screenshot of the credits. The background is an orange honeycomb design. There is a white-yellow gradient made to look like light going down the middle. It reads:

Featuring the Voices of

Jinkx Monsoon as Vikki

Edward Bosco as Dennis

Additional Voices

Edward Bosco

Vivienne Medrano]

FtM surfer imp, the first transmasc character allowed to make it to the final cut of Helluva Boss, a figure from some part of Blitzo’s past, is simply an additional voice. A passing, additional thought. An obligation.

In Vivzie’s worldview, a woman everyone’s humoring.

Rebuttals, Questions, and Concerns

“Why do you hate Vivzie so much? Are you trying to take her down? Why are you doing this?”

No one is trying to take anyone down, but evidence of Vivzie’s transphobia towards trans men has been mounting for a very long time and it’s very easy for her fandom to brush it aside when it’s presented in scattered pieces. The hope is that by compiling it here, it can be viewed as it is; a consistent pattern of behavior that we ignore to our detriment.

“Ken is a bad person and Viv was just acting out of stress and frustration.”

Whose side you take in the Vivzie vs. Ken dispute is irrelevant; either you believe that people are entitled to having their pronouns respected even when you don’t like them personally or you don’t. Vivzie doesn’t get a free pass because she was having a “heated gamer moment,” and especially not repeatedly with multiple people.

“Some trans men are trenders and making the community look bad.”

There’s no doubt that some people transition for the wrong reasons. Just whose job it is to sift the “real trans people” from the rest, whether it’s anyone’s job, remains a debatable point but it certainly isn’t Vivienne Medrano’s.

“Morgana, a trans woman, has defended Viv!”

Morgana is a trans woman, and does not speak for trans men. Furthermore, it’s entirely possible – and sadly common – to accept trans women but behave in a transphobic way towards trans men, or vice versa.

“These are old/fake screenshots.”

As shown, Vivzie’s behavior back during the Dollcreep days remains consistent with her behavior as recently as the summer of 2023. In addition, if even one of these instances was exaggerated or fabricated – say, one of the animation reviews – the others would still be undeniable.

“I don’t like that you used the term transandrophobia/transmisandry. That’s not a thing.”

Trans men/transmasc people do in fact face a form of transphobia targeted specifically at them, specifically for being trans men. They, like trans woman/transfemme people, are entitled to a word that can be used to describe their unique experiences and those are the words that the community generally uses to this end.

“Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss are important to me. Do I have to give them up if Vivzie is a transphobe?”

No, you don’t. What you choose to do with this information going forward is your own business. The point isn’t to shame anyone into abstaining from Vivzie’s works forever, but to facilitate more informed choices when it comes to supporting her financially or holding her up as a universally supportive queer ally.

Closing Thoughts

Vivienne Medrano is no stranger to controversy. She wasn’t during her Zoophobia days and isn’t now, and it would be disingenuous to claim that every last ounce of criticism she’s ever received over the years has been substantial. When we love someone, or the things they’ve created, there’s always a temptation to fall back on the comforting thought that it’s just those people spreading unfair rumors. But in the case of Vivziepop, the evidence is just too much to ignore, too consistent, and too ugly.

These concerns are real. They’re backed by solid evidence, and by Vivzie’s own words. You cannot claim to love and support the trans community without supporting trans men, and you cannot claim to support trans men while handwaving evidence of transphobia aimed squarely at them. Holding Vivziepop accountable for her transphobia doesn’t mean never so much as glancing at a piece of Helluva fanart ever again, but it does start with acknowledging that there’s a serious problem. Until that happens, nothing’s going to change, nor improve.

In conclusion, I leave you with this comic by Nathan Pyle.

[A four-panel comic of two eagles talking. They are sat in armchairs. The eagle on the left is holding a newspaper, and the eagle on the right is holding a cup holding a hot beverage.

First panel - Tea Eagle says "Do you think the owl is a predator?"

Second Panel - Newspaper Eagle says "Of course not. He's never bothered me." Tea Eagle responds "Exactly."

Third Panel - Neither eagle says anything. Tea Eagle takes a drink.

Fourth Panel - Tea Eagle says "No idea what Mr. Mouse was going on about."]