Magic: The Gathering Artist Terese Nielsen Responds to Fan Accusations of Bigotry and Facism

A seasoned and iconic Magic: The Gathering artist has issued a personal response to the fan base after being targeted by fans for her political beliefs.

Terese Nielsen is a veteran artist whose portfolio includes providing the interior artwork for Marvel’s limited series Ruin, cover artwork for Del Rey Books’ [easyazon_link identifier=”0345466470″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Star Wars: The New Jedi Order[/easyazon_link] series, and illustrating the tie-in graphic novel for the [easyazon_link identifier=”0451456076″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father[/easyazon_link]video game. Most famously, Nielsen has also worked with Wizards of the Coast as an illustrator for the popular Magic: The Gathering trading card game, providing now-iconic illustrations for cards such as Force of Will, Heroes’ Renuion, and the entire set of Guru Lands. Recently, fans and players of Magic: The Gatheringhave accused Nielsen of being ‘alt-right’, a ‘bigot, and a ‘Nazi’ due to her personal politics.

According to some fans, the basis for this accusation is ‘guilt by association’ regarding content which Nielsen has interacted with to some extent on her personal Twitter account. This includes retweeting content from accounts such as Mike Cernovich, Eric Trump, and Jack Posobiec, liking tweets involving positive attitudes towards President Donald Trump and negative attitudes towards Anti-Fa, and following accounts such as Sean Hannity, The Drudge Report, and Infowars:

Travis Allen, an author for MTGPrice.com, a Magic: The Gathering value and pricing blog, also pointed to similar accounts followed by the personal account of Nielsen’s wife, Dawn Rickabaugh, as evidence of Nielsen’s bigoted views:

Due to Nielsen’s engagement with and support of outlets, people, and ideas which don’t heavily skew towards the American political left, some fans have begun associating her with fascist rhetoric and bigoted ideals, with some fans even protesting against Nielsen’s Magic: The Gathering work by defacing cards featuring her work with anti-right and pro-left slogans:

If you have a Dismember and want me to cross out Terese Nielsen’s name, write some anti-fascist stuff and sign it hmu

– Liz Lynn (@DevotedDruid) March 27, 2019

On April 2nd, Nielsen took to her personal Twitter account to post a statement responding to the bevy of accusations regarding her personal beliefs, acknowledging that political opinions differ while also stating that her emphasis is on her core values, rather than a specific political belief:

What do you make of Nielsen’s statement? What ado you think about the people calling her a Nazi and stating she is a member of the alt-right?

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