Remember the YouTuber Pogo? The Australian fella whose delightful remixes of Disney films like Alice In Wonderland and Up went viral a few years back?
Well, Pogo – real name Nick Bertke – has just addressed another video he made, in which he voiced his hatred for gay people, and literally fist-pumped for the shooting at Florida’s Pulse nightclub which left 49 people dead.
The Perth-based musician’s video was originally posted during the 2016 US Presidential election, and it didn’t travel much further than his fanbase. However, it has recently resurfaced on social media.
In it, Bertke explains he chose the online moniker Fagottron “because I’ve always had a thorough dislike of homosexuals,” adding “how best can I express to the world that gays are just an abomination?”
Later in the video, Bertke said “I don’t want to really get into this, but when there was the Orlando shooting and the guy was shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ or something, I was like [fist pump].”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=49&v=v-THMK6_JPM
Elements of Bertke’s fan community have expressed their disgust over the clip, prompting him to respond with a new video. In it, Bertke alleges he was simply trolling after being inspired by confronting comedian Andy Kaufman.
“It’s been very naïve behaviour in my part,” Bertke said.
“If I’m going to tug my tail between my legs and admit anything, it’s that these posts, these videos, and these things I’ve made for the sake of being edgy have not contributed to any productive conversation.”
That statement was immediately followed by his admission he’d like to emulate popular alt-right figures like Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro, that he doesn’t hate women because she speaks to them all the time on Facebook Messenger, and paradoxically, that it’s never been his intention to offend people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br3kba-S4fk
But the initial homophobic video is only one of many deeply cooked contributions Bertke has made to the public discourse, joining a slew of misogynistic videos and support for statements made by actual neo-Nazi Blair Cottrell.
It’s a lot to take in – especially for someone whose professional work presents a kind of innocence and levity totally out of sync with his hateful statements.
