Just learned about this, didn't see a thread. Gizmodo summarized everything concisely but just in case:
Seems that this image from has been circulating since last Friday. It creates a theory - again, debunked - that an author on the show made a self-insert character that Blossom is in love with.
Word of warning. This is from 4chan, so expect tastelessness.
By itself, looks damning. But then you get a pretty reasonable explanation from someone at the Cartoon Network:
So it seems like the character is an insert in the sense that his appearance and voice are based off the writer, but it's not actually the writer who is responsible for that. It's not a self-insert. The character existed on paper already, then other people involved in the cartoon decided to model him after this writer as a joke.
My thoughts. First off, good on Kraft for responding quickly. I don't know what the fan response has been like but I imagine that it would damage Goldman's reputation if the rumour went unchecked.
Second, I don't think there's anything innately wrong with self-inserts, at least not to the point that they'd be worth drama even if this was true. They're admittedly cheesy by nature though. They're probably best kept to self-mockery or cheesy romances where the reader should also be projecting themselves onto the main character.
Third, this is probably still kind of a bad idea to add to the cartoon. Regardless of anything else, the character are still little kids (in either kindergarten or elementary school), and they drew a real person involved in the cartoon (or at least someone who is meant to closely resemble them) in a romantic context with them. With the attitude that people have towards stranger danger, that seems like a recipe for disaster, and they should have at least have put in an effort to make sure it wasn't misinterpreted.
Seems that this image from has been circulating since last Friday. It creates a theory - again, debunked - that an author on the show made a self-insert character that Blossom is in love with.
Word of warning. This is from 4chan, so expect tastelessness.
By itself, looks damning. But then you get a pretty reasonable explanation from someone at the Cartoon Network:
So it seems like the character is an insert in the sense that his appearance and voice are based off the writer, but it's not actually the writer who is responsible for that. It's not a self-insert. The character existed on paper already, then other people involved in the cartoon decided to model him after this writer as a joke.
My thoughts. First off, good on Kraft for responding quickly. I don't know what the fan response has been like but I imagine that it would damage Goldman's reputation if the rumour went unchecked.
Second, I don't think there's anything innately wrong with self-inserts, at least not to the point that they'd be worth drama even if this was true. They're admittedly cheesy by nature though. They're probably best kept to self-mockery or cheesy romances where the reader should also be projecting themselves onto the main character.
Third, this is probably still kind of a bad idea to add to the cartoon. Regardless of anything else, the character are still little kids (in either kindergarten or elementary school), and they drew a real person involved in the cartoon (or at least someone who is meant to closely resemble them) in a romantic context with them. With the attitude that people have towards stranger danger, that seems like a recipe for disaster, and they should have at least have put in an effort to make sure it wasn't misinterpreted.
