League of Legends Artist SCAM Update(Michelle Hoefener)

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I'm not sure what I expected, I didn't expect what I got I thought there would be more to it and everything would have been easier if a certain SOMEONE took my initial high-stakes gamble with me. Unfortunately, it's just disappointing. What do you guys think of everything?

[@Y0UZHE4E]

fish

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@Y0UZHE4E sticks.

[@Y0UZHE4E]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist sandwich

[@linaghoname6888]

I thought this was a real possibility, ngl. I saw the comments theorizing that she might've had a mental breakdown, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. She posted new DC art in 2021 and she clearly edited the commission she did for Cody, which required at least *some* artistic skill. I thought she just fell from grace and was maybe unable to get a job after leaving Riot and this whole AI thing was a last desperate attempt, the whole GlitterForever17 situation came to mind. Idk why she's doing this or why her whole manner of speech completely changed, but man, it is disappointing. I hope she is mentally okay, at least.

[@Lycaon1765]

Very unfortunate. Especially if that rumor of her having a mental breakdown is true, that's horrible.

[@Emii_qwq]

I was really hopibg some scammer stole her accounts, because an amazing artist falling into a pit like that is just sad

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I was hoping for that too.

[@carziecat]

If i was a big name artist who wanted to make money from AI without consequences I would also probably pretend to be a bot for plausible deniability

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Well, llololol

[@Vizible21]

Why would you even ruin your career for a few dollars? I get it if they're on the same level as you tho.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@Vizible21 lmao, you tell me?

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Consensus seems to say "scammers with AI will steal your work" so stealing from yourself with AI makes sense.

[@huymaivan8671]

@@vksasdgaming9472 Not sense enough though, because the database belong to the AI company. So if you use AI then you're digging your own grave as an artist.

[@haraya_manawari]

good: she's not bound and gagged in a dingy basement bad: she's now another fallen artist

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Yeah .:(...

[@Metal-Spark]

What a tragic fall from grace. If the rumours are true about her having a psychotic break, then I'm leaning towards her mental health putting her in a place where she wasn't able to continue working and she may have grown desperate if that forced her to stop taking on client work and earning an income. I have a lot of sympathy for people who go through those kinds of struggles, having dealt with it myself and being very close to a few artists who have been through much worse than me. But that doesn't excuse her misleading behaviour. This whole situation is just a real shame. I hope she takes you up on your offer to talk and clear the air. I'm sure dedicated fans would be willing to support her if she just stopped the pretense and returned to making original art, even if her productivity isn't up to studio standards, fans of her work would be more forgiving and celebrate a return to form.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I have sympathy for her, I don't think she'll take me up on the offer. After my two emails to her, I did not reach out to her through any medium that worked. It's my point exactly that no amount of bad things happening to you makes the bad behaviour okay. I feel there are definitely some ways to curb what she's done, possibly apologizing and being upfront about her use of AI. I know some AI bros would certainly buy painted over Riot work.

[@alluvar4444]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist I'm just gonna put this out there, posting a whole video about how you stalked her and found where she lives is gonna wreck her mental health if she truly has some type of psychotic illness. You might end up with blood on your hands for this if she ends up doing something to herself due to the paranoia this causes her. This isn't about you anymore, you've give this up for the internet and while no one will most likely do anything, to a psychotic person this will mean, possibly irrational, but still very real to her fears about being stalked and worse. I know you're loving the views as a small youtuber, but please consider what you are doing by having these up. edit: typos

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@alluvar4444 @alluvar4444 If she has an illness, she could not have an illness. We don't know. Either way, she's scamming people and whether or not she knows it? She decided to do "commissions" You are right, I made it clear to not interact with her, do not speak to her or otherwise. I am not going to remove videos about someone scamming, that allows people to feel like she can continue doing the same thing over and over and over. She has been scamming people for at least a year, she even has a commission paid for from 2021 that went not completed but she took money for. Yet, she stills spams looking for commissions. Anyone looking to hire a her should see these videos before hand. I offered her high-stakes, I was going to take down the video and redit them if she showed me a picture of her, her cat and a timestamp. She chose to keep it up, continuously lie, etc. Also, there is a difference between stalking and investigating. I intended to take this information documented to the police. Infact, I have a recorded call but I didn't put it in because they only suggested me to a website. So, I gave her EVERY OUT, she wants to keep up the scam.

[@alluvar4444]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist Yes, I know all this, I watched the videos. I still stand behind what I said. You can take it or leave it. I'm glad you at least left the call out of the videos.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@alluvar4444 I'll leave it because you would have said something else completely, if it ended in a case of stolen identity. Have a good day, bruh

[@JUSTxK1LL1NGxT1M3]

i said this in premiere chat but its a damn shame she turned to this. truth be told i was hoping it wasnt her and was hoping it was an impersonator or she was hacked. i do ponder on what happened and why she went down this path, still

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

We'll never know.

[@mayov6346]

I dont think she is mentally well, like the weird wording and misspelling in her messages doesent point to a sound primary language english speaker, so that statement about having a psychotic breakdown might be true

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Possibly, I don't know. It's hard to know.

[@monochromedream-eatingbaku]

True. On the other hand I know perfectly mentally sound and smart people who type as if they were toddlers. I mean she definitely isn't mentally well but I'm not sure if the way she types is a piece of evidence

[@mayov6346]

​@@monochromedream-eatingbaku well other than writing, i dont think a professional of that caliber would be pulling off this scheme if they were mentally well also

[@runew9732]

Wow I definitely didn't think it could be her. The nosy part of me wants to know what the hell happened, but its really none of my business, so I just really hope she finds a different way to make a living not scamming random ppl

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@runew9732 well, I tried

[@sabby1shill]

(I should mention first that I've only watched until 15:50 upon making this comment) According to Behance, Michelle lives in Missouri, not too far from where I live (like 40 min drive or so to give scale). I can tell you that racist remarks are VERY commonplace around here. Unsurprising, but still leaves a VERY sour taste in my mouth.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Yeah, you'll see lol

[@sabby1shill]

​@@friendlyneighborhoodartist DUDE the internal screaming I did when you said you contacted local authorities!!!! I was actually hoping you'd post an update on the situation after I saw the pinned message under the first video. (for obvious reasons, lol) Thanks!

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@sabby1shill i actually did record it for the video but when it got stupid i figured it wasn't even worth it lol

[@eis95s]

how is calling her a foreigner racist?.. how would she know her ethnicity?

[@sabby1shill]

@tlddfgn She ASSUMED they were a foreigner. In Missouri, it's seen as an insult (Missouri is a Republican state) because "nOn-WhItE pEoPlE bAd" Like I said, leaves a sour taste in my mouth for that reason

[@wika955]

I'm so disappointed fr.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

So is everyone else.

[@P0aRU]

YUYUKO PFP‼️‼️‼️

[@wika955]

@@P0aRU yass >w

[@pastelrichelle]

Don't hide if you're using AI be loud and proud about it like Ergojosh so we can stay away 😂

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

lol, it's about giving people a choice. when you take it away, i think it's okay for people to expose the problem.

[@localkate]

PAUSE!!!! ergojosh is using ai now?! please tell me this is recent and I haven't been living under a rock LOL

[@mana-sf2gz]

Whaaat. since when he's using ai?

[@enriquepx1698]

​@@localkate he posted a video on his channel about it

[@vaelia1203]

to the people wondering yes he uses AI in his process now & yes it ruined the drawing he used to show how he does it 💀😂 I never watched him but apparently he's always been a tech bro so it's not that surprising but what's surprising is that he tried to use it as a shortcut instead of learning a skill he would've made a video out of before & now he just gets lazy & use ai instead. He even used ai to generate a picture of an elf to reference the pointy ears as if there isn't a bajillions real references of elf ears from the side 💀💀💀 Oh and do you know the best part? He said he used it to speed up his process it still took him 150+ hours to complete the drawing WITHOUT EVEN HAVING THE TIME TO RENDER THE HAIR 💀 Like plz where did these 150 hours go to???? There's NOTHING in the drawing that warrants this kind of time since it's not very detailed & has a LOT of errors due to the use of AI so basically he spent more time to figure out how to incorporate AI in his drawing than on the drawing itself all for nothing.

[@engineergaming3806]

The fact that they thought you were a foreigner (for no reason?) despite them not having the best grammar???? I don't know what to say, but one things for sure they are not who they say they are.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

lol, idk man. i've seen pics of her hand on her cat. so, someone could have close control of the account for some reason -- we'll see if she does anything on her socials but i doubt it.

[@harpbrothers100]

A real-life horror story tbh

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Pretty much, it's too bad.

[@adolin.kholin]

Haven't even watched everything but the "I'm offended that you don't trust me" and "You are a foreigner" are very common phrases and approaches of typical scammers. Like... have seen them use it a lot.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Yeah, pretty much same, lol.

[@adolin.kholin]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist sad and pretty wild it does seem to be her. everything about this screams impersonator and scammer. really weird that she won't send a picture, but... maybe too embarrassed. good job on all the info hunting though, damn.

[@saix_unicorn]

yea the offended part reminded me of the time i told a scammer i didn't wanted to do commissions bcs i wasen't sure they were trustworthy and they told me i had trust issues 😭

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@saix_unicorn lmao what even is that

[@sapsx726]

she gave up on art and started practicing strong capitalism....

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Bad capitalism lol

[@meredithweston46399]

People should absolutely be up front about using AI, but the misinformation that using a lora of your own work makes it ethical needs to be checked. That's like taking all the food from your neighbors' houses and claiming it's OK and it's yours now because you put a grain of salt from your own house on it. Not at all demure or mindful of the community.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Absolutely, I'm not saying I agree with it but if she put forth the effort to train her own lora, repaint over it and sell her commissions for less and be upfront? Sure, possibly.

[@Purplesquigglystripe]

It would have to be a model that is only trained on her work for it to be ethical and she would have to disclose it

[@froggycolouring]

Plus the environmental impact of ai is really bad even if it is 100% your own work

[@lunix_8]

At least we can still identify AI Art with our eyes but soon maybe not. I hope not

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@lunix_8 I think we'll always be able to tell. Humans are great uncanny valley detectors.

[@turdnugget]

This is so wild, it feels like an ace attorney case fr. I still think that this isn't the real Michelle and someone hacked her account. I understand going through a really difficult health issue can affect the way someone draws, but I can't imagine any sort of psychological or physical condition that would cause someone to lose technical knowledge about art. It's like, when I draw with my non-dominant hand, it's not like I don't remember how light affects surfaces, y'know? I just can't accept the fact this is the real Michelle 😭😭

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I know :( also, I did use ace attorney music for this lol

[@pspspspspspspspspspspspspspss]

Best case scenario Id give her is that she suffered from something that debilitates her from doing art, and being that, thats her only option financially, maybe she started using AI to help her workflow better. but it absolutely doesn’t excuse her misleading people and being so aggressive when called out about it (rightfully so)

[@-Seaheart-]

Seems to be the case. I mean if she could still draw it would be on her own best interest to at least do a few new pieces for advertisement and even on her commissioning work it doesn’t feel like she was getting that many commissions to justify using AI instead of drawing it and risk losing it all once the truth got out.

[@kofinart]

Knowing her from her days at DeviantArt, it's no secret that she's one of many artist I've followed that's suffered from carpal tunnel.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

This.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@-Seaheart- Yeah, idk what she was thinking.

[@rubyy.7374]

I wonder if she suffered a stroke or something. That’s the only explanation I can think of.

[@nepvy]

Hello! Unsure if you remember me or not. I do like this follow up c: However I have reason to believe the address evidence isn't definitive, I have huuuge reason to believe Michelle's accounts have been compromised all the way back to 2019 or 2018. I've gone through both her youtube and her deviantart, she stopped posting art akin to her style after the Kitty witch post. Excuse any mistakes I'm not exactly the brightest and my head is pure cloud. There's a noticeable drop in quality of her work ever since 2017. Bulky shading that has had 0 attempt at blending, lineart becomes incredibly messy (most prevalent in the Infinitale Chronicles art and Lili linework.) All of her youtube videos are reposting exclusively old work, you can see the little timestamp watermarks in each of them long dating 2020 and onwards. A big indicator is also the change in english and dialect. She didn't talk all that much but the change comparing her interactions from when she was active, until now it is a LARGE shift. She has been reposting tons of older work ever since her return, and has not created a legitimate splash art either. I strongly believe she either gave her computer and subsequently her accounts to a family member, or someone who has a little bit of artistic knowledge (but still obviously an amateur) stole everything; including old files. I have every reason to believe this still isn't really Michelle, and someone who is reposting, stealing, tracing and feeding her work into ai.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

That's fine, we have our own opinions and you are entirely fine to not believe me. I feel that finding the address and this video explains a lot. Her work isn't even being fed into AI because she's not making a lora style for stable diffusion, she's using a free service.

[@nepvy]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist The address is absolutely very good evidence. i believe AI systems, like OpenAI Dall-E 2, allow you to feed a piece into it to reference from 1% up to 100% direct copy. I used Dall-E maybe 2 years ago now so im not 100% certain if that's changed or evolved since. I believe this person does feed Michelle's art to ai, though, The DVA art posted june of last year is a big tell of that, it has a similar style of bunny logo Michelle uses, similar proportions and similar face style. But still very obviously ai and photo bashed (what even is that texture on the black leather?). I do believe you but I'm certain this goes so much deeper than just a jaded ex-artist trying to make a quick $$ before she has too much heat on her back. Her Deviant art is now being spammed every day with 3-6 posts advertising her 75% discount commissions. All of her accounts mostly halted activity from 2017 which is why i think this is so much deeper.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

​@@nepvy Sure, I just think if she wants to feral-spam her accounts then let her. :\ She doesn't wanna be honest and I can't find more info without an actual photo of her, which she won't give anyone.

[@thesmashdancers105]

I don't know, something doesn't feel right. The fact that one family member kept replying the same way repeating stuff, the fact that everything looks ran by one person is so strange? The refusal to show proof of stuff.. I can believe that it's the same house ig? But something feels *really* off. Btw you did a really good job researching everything. I'm inclined to believe you too. I just have a weird feeling there's more than meets the eye. Maybe I'm wrong, I probably am. But I feel like she's either too isolate or only people *very close* to her know something. That and the cat picture just isn't doing it for me for some reason. This feels so confusing.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

There is more but there is nothing more I can do when I know she's in a house I found for sure and she's living with Patricia. Either way, I said what I think and I'll have to stick to it. She wasn't willing to send a photo, so home residence and cats are how it's gunna have to be unless she's willing to do more -- which she isn't. As long as I know she's not like a scammer who stole her account and she's scamming everyone else? Oh well, lol.

[@миииц]

This!!

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@миииц 😞

[@SmallAnimations]

Right I find it odd too, if we're taking in account that she was truly hacked/or someone else has control over many of her stuff we should also consider that this person could have her photos like in google photos. Also adding the fact that her brother doesn't reply to any of the messages, when he has recently posted art is so weird, like... it's his literal sister, not a random.

[@SmallAnimations]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist you could try to see the metadata of the cat picture she sent u, to see if it was a fresh new one, or a pic from the past.

[@NicoleHam]

And thus the case of the crazy washed up artist gone full on scammer is closed. When hit with the most simplistic of questions you get asked if you're a 'foreigner'. Wow. No "thanks for the wellness check, I'm okay" or even "Sorry to hear you think that, here's XYZ Proof" or even "Your request made me uncomfortable". Just "Are you FOREIGN". Well YEET to your career then, k thanks. And Thanks for the 5 minutes of entertainment though, video one had me losing my mind/ was a funny breakdown of events... I'll definitely sub for just making me laugh today and yesterday lmao

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I try to do some entertaining, lol.

[@dpphere]

How the mighty have fallen, its upsetting to see how an artist fall from grace but it is what it is

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

That's all you can really say.

[@dpphere]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist yeah :(

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@dpphere i wish it wasn't this way

[@dpphere]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist I think we should all see this as a cautionary tale of what Ai can do to an artist vaules and how to not end up like this

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@dpphere this is a cautionary tale.

[@Skadivore]

I have friends who worked with her at Riot and did not think that’s her. If I remember correctly you mentioned broken English in the other video. Did you? Or did I just read it in the comments of the other video? They assured me that she never struggled with that. EDIT: AND they said they haven’t heard from her for more than 10 years. The way she responds to your messages feels like typical scammer response. I still can’t believe it is her. The same flooring doesn’t convince me with so much evidence pointing the other direction. Maybe she lost her mind or had a stroke, losing the ability to paint. It is just completely different lines and beginner level. I couldn’t even replicate it if i tried and it’s more tome consuming to draw like a beginner than in the style she did before. Or the person taking over her sm took over her whole life, idk. This is so weird. It still doesn’t really add up.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Well, my whole thing was to find out if she's around. She is around, she lives there with that other woman commenting. She just became a recluse, something could have happened or someone in her house hold is doing it.

[@Skadivore]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist thanks for digging deeper. It’s a really interesting case and i hope more will come to light one way or another

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

i'm glad you enjoyed my vid :D

[@DeepInsideZettaiRyouiki]

10:00 - It struck me immediately that BRAID is not DREW. It's EXACTLY a Copy → Paste. Look at it and then once again on the reference picture you presented just after. 100% copied, line by line...not even bothered to mirror or draw something on top. This is absurd...

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@DeepInsideZettaiRyouiki just a lot of photobashing

[@ambermay7032]

The "mental break" and the different speech/refusal to post her own image/ poor art skills makes me feel like she has been caught up with an abusive partner who is using her name for money scamming. Domestic violence can be isolating and very controlling leaving the victim unable to even fight against it, often going along with their abuser due to being trapped mentally and physically. It can break a person especially if the abuser uses drugs to help control them. The abuser is probably controlling/doing everything.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@ambermay7032 it's a theory, but unless she's willing to be honest there isn't much I can do from here.

[@lionlessart]

As someone who has experienced temporary psychosis due to medical mistreatment, it is horrible what it does to you. I know people say "mental illness is no excuse for your actions" but honestly, psychosis is an exception in a lot of ways. You will do things that you would never do under your right mind, and you have little to no control over both your mind and your body. I hope people will treat her with sympathy if that is the case, it's a horror to experience that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. That said, if this is the result of psychosis, she needs desperate help. Someone who knows her in real life needs to get in contact and get her the help she needs. Psychosis is hell.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@lionlessart I did all I could do. I do have sympathy, that's why I think.prople should leave her alone. I still did message her brother or husband. So, I'm hoping that everything is okay.

[@lionlessart]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist I know, I wasn’t trying to like, indict you or anything, I just know a lot of people probably won’t be as understanding, y’know? I hope you’re able to get ahold of someone or someone close to her will see all this and reach out to her.

[@Blythe985]

Honestly making little progress over months and using Ai to cut corners really sound like depression making them unable to work but still needing to earn money. I feel kind of bad because both parties lose here. She struggles and the comissioner isn't getting what they pay for. Hope she does what's best... Try to heal and do self care while also at the same time not doing stuff like this anymore

[@nefermis]

What really gets me is how amateur everything in her recent work is, it definitely isn't consistent with her level of skill - even if she's being intentionally lazy. Even without trying, her work wouldn't look like that. There could possibly be a way for someone to completely regress in skill - both theory and practice, but I've personally never seen such case. That, even more than the awkward english and refusal to show proof of being herself, is what makes me think even though it's the same house it might still not be her running the account.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I know, there are 1,000 different ideas. It could even be her husband or her kid, if she has one, running the account with AI. Either way, it's someone at her house.

[@yawn9327]

Maybe asking for a voice chat discussion for a "commission" would have given some hindsight on the situation but... yeah, it's pretty crazy. Thanks for the hard work tho, you really did go full sherlock on that one

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

🔍well, i intended to send everything to the authorities. i literally thought i would need to over document and record everything to prove my case for them to look into her. I didn't get the answer until last night when I was digging.

[@WangFire]

Yeah I still don't buy it. If someone hacked her primary email address they can reset all her account passwords, and it would also give them access to any stored photos and videos.

[@LichtdesMorgens]

Yeah the problem I have is that no one is talking about it, no brother posting that his sisters account was stolen and not to buy from them. That none of them could be reached.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Possible but then the cat picture she first sent me was dated 7/24/24.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Yeah, but he worked at Riot for like years. So, my priority isn't to check on him and why he ain't posting himself lol

[@LichtdesMorgens]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist no, no, I'm just saying that it feels weird to me that why, if her account was stolen and now ruining her reputation, nobody would say anything about that.

[@Luna-gm5eq]

​@@friendlyneighborhoodartist did u get the date from the metadeta of the image? Unless it's a screenshot you can download the image and use a website to look at the metadeta to see when it was really taken.

[@bethanyanne802]

Saw you from the Westside Tyler stream, great video!

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@bethanyanne802 ah yes! Thanks!

[@4nanaide]

Great work! I remember stumbling with her "case" a few months ago and was honestly baffled. I'm still not fully convinced that this is 100% her though, or if it is, that she might be dealing with a mental illness? Perhaps dementia? To me it makes absolutely no sense that someone would spiral this much into self sabotage. It also surprises me that she didn't even make an effort to upload a KZbin video of either herself or her cats to KZbin, or a similar video style as yours where she doesn't show her face and only talks, she could even even livestream her process or make a stream answering questions. She's just spamming old illustrations over and over again... Like if she was in some kind of loop. If she had any issues or complications, I'm sure that she could have gone to Twitter or even KZbin, talk about it, get support from fans and artists alike and get back in track. Anyways, great video.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

This is a great comment

[@4nanaide]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist It's okay! You did more than enough tbh, I guess it's just a sad/bitter ending to something that most of us expected to be at least somewhat clearer. Again, great video, I really appreciate the time and effort you put into it.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@4nanaide thanks so much

[@vaelia1203]

2:08 SHE CALLED YOU A FOREIGNER FOR ASKING A CONFIRMATION OF HER IDENTITY?!?! 😭 Pls that's an insane take on how to respond to someone asking that 💀 Btw that's also a typical scammer answer (they try to divert your attention/lower your guard by making you feel bad) (made this comment before finishing the video, will prolly add follow-up comments once Im done)

[@vaelia1203]

ok soooooo I made a separate comment after the vid. But yeah it really does seem like it's really her. I thought maybe she completely lost her will to draw but since it's her only source of income she couldn't just stop (she could probably find another job is she doesn't already have one but this probably brings her a lot of money for little efforts so) but I really hoped that no one would fall this low as to suddely start acting like a total con artist.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

She's such an asshole lol

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Well, yeah, it's just sad.

[@vaelia1203]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist fr that was so unwarranted?!?! 😭 Im sorry you had to go through that with her. I hope that people continuously calling her out will wake her up one day to get the help she needs & I personally think she could be forgiven by redoing or reimbursing all of the scam commissions & to apologize for the random racist reply(ies she probably answered the same to other people), whatever else she did & consistently proving she stopped using ai but let's be honest it's probably never going to happen.

[@2Btoobee]

i'm still weirded on how she describe her art as "high-end" art to justify the prices despite it being AI w/ just some overpaints, the moment a person use or put AI into their art, the price would totally diminish. like in deviantart, images there are now mostly AI and looked "high-end" yet they can't even sell those for 5dollars

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Yeah, that uh declaration is weird, lol.

[@butter-qv4wt]

As someone that couldn't draw a single thing for years now and so conveniently has slight wrist problems, using AI is NOT an option or excuse in any case.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

apparently for her it is lol

[@butter-qv4wt]

​​​@@friendlyneighborhoodartist If she can paint over AI, she is pretty much capable of doing some headshots/chibi art herself. Shit is sad asf

[@butter-qv4wt]

​​​@@friendlyneighborhoodartistbru i think my comment got deleted😭😭 If she is capable of painting over AI to make whatever it spitted out more comprehensive, she is very much capable of doing headshots / chibi art, even if its not shaded. Or as you said could've been transparent about her ai usage and trained the blank model off of her own. Sad asf

[@butter-qv4wt]

​@@friendlyneighborhoodartist or could've found something else to do/make if she doesn't want to draw anymore

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@butter-qv4wt dang, im missing some too but yes. there were avenues

[@schemesthefox1255]

I’m pretty sure I toured her new house while me and my family were looking to move for the first time. Huh.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

that would be so wild lol

[@unchiez1722]

Maybe this is going too far, but you could go back to the house to confirm signs of life lol

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@unchiez1722 lmao don't do that 😂

[@rdzdoodles8592]

I still have a gut feeling that this is NOT her. It's not uncommon for scammers to go an extra mile to impersonate someone, and nowadays evidence such a timestamps can be manipulated

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@rdzdoodles8592 sure, but not entire houses ool

[@rdzdoodles8592]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist I wish I could agree but with how generative AI models work nowadays, a little sample is needed to replicate anything, especially if there are no telling details to help discern. Yeah some models have a characteristic sheen that you can tell it's AI, but there are models that already can generate lifelike photography images you can't tell apart. Scarily enough, some can even retain a measure of maintaining details across multiple generations. alas, at this point can we REALLY be sure of anything shown on the internet anymore? In any case, thank you for bringing this case to some attention. Maybe, just maybe, we'll hear more on the issue from someone else, too.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@rdzdoodles8592 well, there is the dead internet theory for a reason, lol. I mean, even with the realistic stuff, I can usually tell. It's a matter of looking at too many ai images on reddit and other stuff

[@cheergiver]

This is wild. I think she’s close to my age; I followed her on Elfood a million years ago before DA became a big thing. Iris was her OC, right?! I honestly haven’t kept tabs on most of the artists I followed back then, and other than knowing she worked at Riot, I didn’t really know what happened to her. I feel like there’s gotta be more to this story. People don’t generally recede from social media unless something bad happened. The evidence points to her being a scammer… I don’t think it’s solid proof though. The fact that she didn’t want to show her face gives me pause… but then again, I’m not sure how I’d react if someone commissioning me asked for my photo. I’ve had people dig up photos of me when I wouldn’t share (pervs, not clients tho) and it’s really creepy. Either way, you bring an important message to the community- don’t commission from her at this time.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I feel until Michelle gives a statement, no one should commission her. I still think a picture proof is needed. Also, if tons of people thought my identity was stolen? I'd totally show a picture of me and my cat. Her response was to send a photo from 10 years ago, knowing we meant recently and thought she could get away with it. I'll respect her rights to not show herself but until she does something more than have me prove that she's alive? No one should commission her.

[@PalitoSelvatico]

​@@friendlyneighborhoodartistif you had a stalker would you send them pics to prove they are lying? No way. Be smarter

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@PalitoSelvatico I accepted your criticism, but I disagree. Thanks for your input.

[@zebnemma]

Wait am I missing something here? How does the house pictures + cats prove it's her? If she died then her cats would be given to someone else, aswell as any property she has. I still feel like some idiot talentless aunt, uncle or nephew who has heard about AI, and then Michelle dying around the same time as AI became popular, then starting to use her accounts pretending to be her. They probably saw what a massive potential for a scam it was when they also remembered she was a pro artist, and they were given access to the accounts and the cats when all the family talked about who inherits what from her belongings. I bet they say something like "we just want her accounts to remember her, and we will make sure they don't get deleted" to make it seem like they had good intentions. And the main reason why I refuse to believe it's actually her scamming is because how can a pro artist revert back to beginner level chicken scratching the lines??? Even if she somehow got crippled and lost alot of her function I still think the perfectionist in her would try her hardest to make it look good and not use beginner shit like chicken scratching. And she has also magically lost all her knowledge on perspective and how to draw certain shapes etc? Nooooo I refuse to believe.

[@pinegoistic2352]

oh wow, dying, crippled...just why so dark? the only thing was rumored is about some mental issues. I agree about not consistent conclusions though

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

There is alot to unpack here. Basically, someone or someone she lives with has the account and if it's her then she's scamming. She's not willing to do a photo, so proving she exists through other means will have to do. There is no obituary, so she's not dead, she has a recent residence, so she's living in the house. For all we know, she has a 15 yr old kid who is on her account fucking around lmao. But in the picture she sent me, specifically, you can see her hair in the picture.

[@zebnemma]

​@@friendlyneighborhoodartist @friendlyneighborhoodartist Did you show the photo where her hair can be seen in the video? The only time you mention her sending a photo is around the 4:05 mark where she sent a very old photo of herself. Not that I even know what her hair looks like anyway but if the hair looks like it could be hers then we are at least closer to the truth. But then you must also show 2 pictures of her side by side so we can compare it. Or maybeee she is living with a caretaker due to her being too unwell, and the caretaker is abusing and exploiting her? If that was the case then the caretaker would not want to show pictures of Michelle if she has bruises or look super sick. So many questions. I think doing a wellfare check sounds like a good idea anyhow with how werd this whole situation is, and it was also a good idea that you reported to police regards to the scam, they will find out the truth.

[@Akaynonek]

@@pinegoistic2352 the world is a dark place

[@abimbus659]

Damn. Not the follow-up I expected. To be honest I'm not suprised, all the pieces fit, but it's probably the most depressing ending this story could've gotten. She seems desperate for the money too so who knows, maybe it's even worse than we know. Anyway, thanks for the research and a great vid.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

You are welcome. Such a bad ending.

[@TheOniBri]

that's so sad.. I also looked at her Facebook and that aunt person doesn't look real either, that person will post the same comment over and over again and share every single post... not to mention the pictures her aunt has clearly has drawn on hair?? like what?? she doesn't even seem like a real person either. she doesn't run her twitter either, seems like she has a bot that posts those things everyday. As far as it goes it seems like it's actually her... sad to find out she's a racist and she decided Ai was the best option, she always seemed like a nice person- but I guess playing an act does something to a person. I just wanted to thank you for all the effort you put in to find out what happen- as upsetting as it is, everyone deserves to know what happen to her even if Michelle is to afraid to admit it herself.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

You are super welcome. She also doesn't respond to any messages done on her twitter really, so I think she's using a separate service auto post things. That 'you are a foreigner' comment, was really kind of out of nowhere, lol.

[@emilywarrenrice]

FWIW I went to school with Michelle since 9th Grade and roomed with her in college- this absolutely does sound like her and tracks. I’m surprised but not surprised. Mostly bummed to see her using the word “foreigner” but I guess moving back to Missouri will do that to you.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Can you elaborate?

[@0rchlid]

Can u tell more pls

[@heathencaerus4046]

People are acting weird in the comments. 'It's creepy to reach out to family members'. Hello??? We are not living in a vacuum. How do you think people were locating each other before the 'forever online' era? You need to talk to people to find out information about other people. This feels in the same tune of 'It's creepy when people talk to me irl'... Ye, that's called socializing.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I think the people here are just thinking I did it for no reason? I did it because a lot of people, including myself, thought she was not in control of her socials nor her bank account -- a serious situation.

[@Willie_Shakes]

​@friendlyneighborhoodartist bear in mind any response she has given also reads like she's asking chat gbt to give a response and I think it's reasonable to have genuine concern for her wellbeing, the rumored mental breakdown also factors in a bit but at this point what can you do but point out what's what, tell people to leave her alone and leave the rest to proper authorities to hopefully help with.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@Willie_Shakes Well, I did tell people to leave her be.

[@Willie_Shakes]

​@@friendlyneighborhoodartist yeah, if you dropped her address in the video I'd be with anyone being upset because doxxing isn't cool even if the info was publicly avaliable with some digging but you didn't, no real wrong doing on your part imo. A lot of her behaviors scream that she has mental health issues but I'm no doctor so I can't say for sure, all we can do Is hope she is fine health wise and can see the light with the whole ai scamming shit. Gonna binge more of your vids now anyway so cao

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@Willie_Shakes aw yeahh. I tried to keep most of her info private. I don't think I doxxed anyone directly or indirectly. All info is public, I've asked 2 cops about the info and nothing illegal happened in my videos. :/

[@lolaholliday]

Sitting with my popcorn for this one 😝

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

enjoy it lol

[@fx7105]

There was a family that collected pension for a dead family member for years and it got exposed after the government went to congratulate the person for being the oldest person in town or something like that, only to find their dead body in the house. Somehow that's what I got reminded of. Anyways, stranger things have happened and I don't know what I believe in this case but I'm still not sure one way or another other than so many things sus af. If it's really her and she had a breakdown or possibly physical issues I hope she gets better.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

This is another reason why I looked into it, the fact that no family had reached back out. When I know at least 2 of the numbers were working just is odd.

[@axxiLa666]

Thanks for doing all this for us. Love you and your relaxing voice, have a good day too ✌️💕

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Aw, thanks so much! It's so funny that I get 'it's relaxing' or 'troon' LOL no imbetween XD!

[@axxiLa666]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist I guess everyone has their opinions, even though it's a rude one !!✌️😔

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@axxiLa666 lol i guess so. i ain't mad, i just think it's funny XD

[@Laphr0a1g]

I still don't think it's Michelle. About the cat photo... if the scammer got access to a lot of her accounts, could they just grab a photo of the cat from Facebook messages or something and send it to you? Like... "she" didn't take a selfie with the cat and the date, and "she" sent the other person an old photo of "herself". If it was Michelle, it would be in her interest to prove she was real! Even when this situation got publicized, "she" didn't bother to prove "she" is real (like post a selfie on Twitter or something). I also think some of the "recently" posted arts are Michelle's old works that the scammer was able to find in her messages or private albums (e.g. Harley Quinn in steampunk style... Michelle had a similar artwork from 2017). Even if Michelle had a breakdown or her mental state deteriorated, is forgetting her native language a bonus? And how can she not have the strength to draw quality art but have the strength to use ai and constantly spam ads on her social media? Like... to get the desired result in ai, it may take many attempts, and it still doesn't save you from having to tweak all sorts of mistakes manually (yes, "she" doesn't do that, but "she" still fixes some of the mistakes). I think it would take even more time spent on that than just drawing an art, considering the real Michelle knows how to draw. (bad English, sorry)

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

No, I'm saying there is one photo in my original email to her that's dated. That is the only one dated, it's the same as the pictures of her place from the listing I found.

[@vaelia1203]

wow I don't know if the fact that SHE HERSELF is the scammer is better or worse than the other theories we had 😭 but tbh I feel like the fact that the paypal is still in her name was an obvious tell that it had to be her because even if someone stole her identity it's unlikely that it could've lasted this long irl with her bank & all. Not that it can't happen but it's unlikely that any hacker/family member that could've gotten hold of her accounts after her disappearance would even go to these lengths to scam (that's too much efforts for them) for so long. We all wanted it to not be her so bad we would've rather make the wackiest theories 😔 We officially lost the creative soul of an artist today, everyone.

[@WizeDemon]

And alot of websites now till auto delete the stored payment details if logged in from a new IP/Computer for safety

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Well, there has been cases where people continue to use an account when the person is dead.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I didn't know that lol

[@jaurybeltraoengers5986]

I hope she recovers, cuz she was clearly a great artist, i hope her alleged brakdown didn't end up being so bad it left her with mental or physical disabilities, but none of this excuses scamming someone out of their money.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

We can all hope so but..:/

[@EvanBear]

Call in for a wellness check on her please. Just to make sure it's not a mental health issue.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I'll think about it, I want to give her time to make a statement if she can.

[@dezgasting]

Aw man. Unfortunate. I've been a LoL player for like 5 years now and I always loved the art. Seeing an artist go down this path is unfortunate.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Mostly sad 😔

[@f1r35p1n]

im so fed up with the the stupid grind/hustle culture that squeezes every drop of creativity out of really good artists, this feels like she was giving as much as she had and now that her work has become a whole ass platform with 100s of 1000s of fans and potential customers, the need to continue performing at such a high standard does not stop. cutting corners and finding cheaper workarounds sounds like she's over it but needs the job...... i genuinely hope she gets a well-deserved and comfortable break so she can let herself return to the awesomeness that she produced. losing a dream job would kick anyone's feet from under them. i would love to see more of her original art some day

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Well, if she needed a break she ain't taking it. She's still posting 75% ogg commissions.

[@f1r35p1n]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist i know. it hurts to watch.

[@saix_unicorn]

i would understand if she felt uncomfortable showing her face (i hate my face and hate taking pics) but her reaction was so immature it's crazy.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@saix_unicorn she was comfortable enough to show cody a picture from over 10 yts ago, lol. And on her older social media, she updated her picture frequently lol

[@saix_unicorn]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist yeaaaah 😬

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@saix_unicorn there were other ways to talk about proving her identity, but ya know. She jumped right to I'm a foreigner and harassing her, even tho I was being polite lol..

[@saix_unicorn]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist yeah that's what i find weird, if you are a honest person you wouldn't feel threatened by someone asking those things

[@DuskEx]

so it turns out shes even worse than a AI art bot... she's just a PoS who likes to scam ppl

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

:( 😞

[@takke9830]

I think that people who use AI as pose references or inspiration for design work are good ways to reclaim the AI art theft we are all struggling with, but to use AI to basically scam people pretending u draw it yourself is vile! Just shows again how AI users really just want to use this as an easy grift to sell people fake artwork.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Yeah :|

[@rdzdoodles8592]

There is nothing to reclaim. Using the model to generate a reference validates the existence of the model as you choose to use the tool that was built on said theft. And this is precisely what big tech wants - for people to use the fruit of their theft, for people to get used to it It is choosing to become part of the problem, covering it with good intentions

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@rdzdoodles8592 this right here.

[@Veritanky]

Really good investigative journalism, crazy how much public information is avialable to see in USA. I guess cats out of the bag now, but ill still cope that its not her. Its too sad to think its her doing all these stuff and calling you "forgeiner".

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Thanks! I appreciate it

[@begonestink2956]

Thanks for covering this issue!! Was really looking forward to this video after your first video covering it all. Disappointed, but happy to see a conclusion.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

No problem, I really did try to go as far as I could before contacting the authorities lol

[@zeroplustwo]

underrated yt channel!!! appreciate that you actually tried to clear up the misunderstanding

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@zeroplustwo I tried

[@RibombeeTeacher]

I just picked up the last couple of videos on this as it cropped up in my feed ... man this is crazy to see.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

yeah, it's super all over, lol.

[@AlicjaNai]

its honestly so sad, and mind blowing to me to now connect the artist of my literally fav skin on league to this shell of an artist she became :( Im not defending her in any way, but I wonder what is the actual reason? Since I work drawing full time i know it can be so exhausting and sometimes i have days that i want to rather pull my hair than draw. But to go so far? I just wonder, is it the case of motivation for quick money or is it the case of burnout and going mad? I wonder. Btw I loved to see you using my brushes! Lovely artwork

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

It's senpai 👁👄👁. I don't know what's going on with her, deep down I wish I could have a real conversation. She thinks I'm some dirty foreigner now, so lol. I think maybe she might have an injury? I just don't know why she lied? Lying didn't help her. If I could be cookie or Penelope, I'd have an answer, lol. Also, thanks for the reply. I've been subscribed for years! I appreciate the compliment 🥹! Also, yes, I love yout hair brushes, lol.

[@remjob2296]

This is crazy, the skin she worked on are some of my favorite in the game, there's nothing quite like Arcade back in the 2010s ! Honestly it must have been as crazy for you as it was for us hearing it, you were investigating to discover the truth and I applaud you for that 👏🏻

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

My first video was semi scripted, so the end of the video was really me coming to a conclusion in real time. It felt like I had to find what's going on. I was a victim of stolen identity before, so I know how easy it is.

[@remjob2296]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist Yeah that shit is no joke, hopefully your video brings awareness to this and people pay more attention to what they pay for 🙏🏻

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@remjob2296 I can only hope

[@wolfspade1646]

This is so shocking. She's so talented; she got to work in the industry for fuck's sake. If I had that kind of skill, making a ton of money doing something I was THAT good at would be a cakewalk. What a shame.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Fall from grace.

[@vespulaggro]

Wow, crazy how much work you put into these two videos! Found your account with the first video and it really got me hooked! Great work!!! :3 Though it leaves a bit of a bitter taste in the end, what a sad end!

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@vespulaggro it's like a cyberpunk story, lol. Interesting but bad ending.

[@Hypertextz]

I feel like something mentally or medically wrong happened to her, and she found herself slowly losing her art skills and felt there was no other way to make money

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Possibly, possibly not.

[@moonexed]

Something about this still feels off to me. I've followed this artist on DA for a very long time, and I've seen "progress" pieces from her in the past where she used to post animations of her sketch, then the lines, then the flat colors, and then the shaded version. Her sketches never looked nearly as bad as the one featured in this video. Whoever is doing this is clearly tracing and painting over AI generated images, but I'm not entirely sold that this is actually the artist herself. I still think this is someone trying to impersonate her because things just aren't lining up from how her work used to look in the past when she was active…

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do from here. I have a lot of photos that show her living in that space, even one of the photos has her hair innit lol

[@moonexed]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist Yeah, it's an unfortunate situation. I unfollowed her today on Deviantart because, again, getting the same old artworks in my notifications from 2016-2017 like they're brand new, and I'm so sick of it lol. She was an artist I looked up to a lot back in the day, same with Sakimi, but it can't be helped.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

lol i can't imagine using art from 10 yrs ago to sell anything.

[@kasagi_uwu]

You went insane on finding more stuff! Good job 🎉👍

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Lmao, it happens. It was a rabbit hole.

[@starxich0r727]

Especially after the whole ergojosh bs gurl I’m tired LMAO great vid tho!

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I'm also tired, lol. You can see I was recording this shit at 1am lol

[@Kasaronie]

You deserve way more followers omg 😭💕 this is a really good video bringing up and diving into the situation itself to let us know

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Thanks! I appreciate it.

[@paltrygeist]

i have never seen your videos in my life but this is so fascinating, regardless of her potentially being a nasty scammer i hope michelle is doing well and her family is looking out for her instead of commenting on youtube videos about her, lol!

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

i also hope that she's well, lol. i know right? instead of commenting, maybe yall should tell us what's up instead of botting lol

[@paltrygeist]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist it's a weird situation because she's not been so active on social media before as i understand so there's no expectation to communicate. also she wouldn't owe anyone on the internet info about what the fuck is going on if she wasn't seemingly participating in scamming... eek. i just hope the reason for the silence isn't that she's in a bad place and scamming with fake art is her only income.

[@kiarasessyoin]

While she's a scammer, if we do believe the psychotic break angle I think we have an extremely delicate case on our hands of someone who's not in a proper mindstate at all. I don't think openly confronting her does anyone any good, and I hope some sort of contact can be done with friends or family to make sure she's safe, and at a worst case scenario, a wellness check.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I hope so, at this point it's out of my hands, I did everything I could do to find out if she was actually behind the accounts and a crime wasn't committed against her.

[@literallywhat4579]

I just don't understand why she would go back to change all her posts on her websites though. if you look on the way back machine her captions used to be so lively and full of art description now they're just broken short sentences. something just isn't adding up. I just hope she's safe and doing ok.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

same ;\

[@annabella1650]

I am still tempted to say that it’s not her in control of the account. The way the person talks seems off, the refusal to send a timestamped photo is off, and the warning on the email. Maybe she sold off her socials and alike, and that’s why nobody really knows what’s going on?

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I don't think so, there are loads of reasons why someone could talk like that.

[@annabella1650]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist True, it’s just the defensiveness when asked for a timestamped photo. Sounds similar to when I asked a “friend” whose account got hacked for their actual name. I don’t think she got hacked though, it’s either her or she handed over the account to someone else.

[@barryyuth]

The fact that she makes no statement. But none of her mutual friends/family members are there to help...?

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Girlypop, is doing whatever she wants

[@TheMikgus]

This is okey ending not the best, but a great video. You did a lot and now we can stop digging the rabbithole.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

*bow* welcome

[@williamwest3594]

Tyler sent me down this tangled little rabbit hole. Here I go about to binge. (Dagnabit)

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@williamwest3594 tell me what you think, when ur done xD

[@williamwest3594]

Well,@@friendlyneighborhoodartist, ADHD took me on a rollercoaster ride everywhere else before I came crawling back to give your video (and part of the previous one ( before I got sidetracked again)) a good looksee. I give it a good 25/30. I'm a bit confused about how and why a person would do what this artist did and toss her hard earned skills out the nearest airlock.

[@rinowichan]

Damn this is crazy 💀💀

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@rinowichan it went everywhere lol

[@rinowichan]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist so weird about everything! Too bad at the end she is scamming people with art, leaves a bad taste for everyone 🥴🥴 sounds fishy, like, without knowing her like she is not herself, for the way she talks, that her email is known for spam and that she deleted all her past posts and has a weird commission sheet even tho she is super famous

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@rinowichan I'm assuming the spam is because she doesn't remove people off her list. So, people report it.

[@amalathisdreaming]

In the early times of DeviantArt, she had been one of the artists that made me interested in learning art. I adore her old style and was following her socials for many years. Watching her go from successful and friendly artist to the spam bot - and now AI scammer on top of it - has been heartbreaking.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@amalathisdreaming :( i know. It's disappointing.

[@emh.1178]

Ooo i love hearing about people's ocs!!! Subscribed:D also- fantastic detective work and art

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Thanks for subbing!

[@HereComesCats]

I am late to this but this is super sad. She could've gone even further with her art, tragic.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@HereComesCats it is pretty sad :/

[@SylvetF37]

Thanks for shedding more light on this topic kinda wondering myself coz I've seeing this topic for a while now if her accounts were hijacked or something now if for real it is her she needs to take a break and start over again w/o ai - ai kinda ruining her flow and I dunno what happened to her and riot but it seemed it kinda took a toll her or maybe she is going through something but she really needs to go get rid of ai definitely.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Even if she doesn't, she needs to be honest.

[@DamianHunter-nx2gm]

Just checked her account, and she was hacked 100% . I don't believe for a second it's her.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

well, someone at her house is behind it :|

[@rafaell.9836]

Now everything makes sense, thanks for clarifying. Its all just sad tho :(

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@rafaell.9836 yeah, unfortunately.

[@TinyFlyThing]

That is really disappointing, but i'm glad you found out that it is probably Michelle herself. So we don't need to worry what happened to her.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Yeah :/

[@justinneuroth1371]

I still don't think this is the real person.... Until there is a real image of her. I won't believe it. It could be someone else living in the house that she used to live in, it could have been a significant other, and they have the cat. Posting or sharing an image of a cat that looks similar is easily done. ;(

[@mimikyu1093]

yeah it’s really weird but her mum commented on the kitten post talking like she met the cat before so either her mum is scamming in her place or it’s her, it seems unlikely her whole family got hacked

[@SynestriaVI]

@@mimikyu1093 watch an episode of Catfish and you'll be surprised the lengths people will go to to make something fake seem real

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Well, its more about that these cats live in that residence. Unless someone is living directly with her, it's a sign of life that she's done all this.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Nah, on the website for the address is has her mom as living with her.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I checked online for these cat pictures too, I made sure they weren't posted elsewhere.

[@teleportingtoaster783]

Beautiful work dedicated detective artist! It's so sad that she has resorted to this. I really hope that she finds some way to come clean, or whoever the heck is behind the account! Now this is all speculation and is probably not true at all! But I have a really weak guess. Since it's been confirmed that the person owning the account is in the house, and sent a photo of the cat, it could also be a relative owning the account? Or she could be working with someone. But in all honesty, it's likely her, and it's really sad that she's 99.99% behind the account (probably???). If the rumor is true, she might be in a really bad space mentally, or recovering from it, and who knows what else happened? I really hope she's doing okay, and that she does better, but I don't want to judge the situation when we don't have Michelles side of the story. Hopefully she'll do better in the future, and she won't be harassed or anything. I just hope that she does better, and is doing okay since she could be in a bad situation where she's unable to work anything like she used to. I just hope that she's okay. :(

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Well, I made it pretty clear that when I was doing the initial investigation for people to be gentle. Now I'm telling people to just not interact with her, she has enough of a bad past.

[@teleportingtoaster783]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist I know you have good intentions, and that you don't mean to cause harm. I have a lot of empathy since I have my own experiences, so I just hope that she'll be okay if the rumor is true. I am very happy that you made the video, as it definitely scratches that itch of curiosity to me. Again, thanks for making the video, it makes me wonder what will happen next, and it's very cool and interesting. And it lets people know more about the situation, which is pretty cool. I think that this video is the right choice, since other people don't have to dig in deep for themselves, and whoever is behind the account can be left alone with that knowledge.

[@LtSoap]

Damn, I really was hoping such a talented artist wouldnt do this to their fans

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Or in general but it is what it is.

[@Rob_Fordd]

Amazing work on this!

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Thanks a lot!

[@joiford251]

I couldn't help but imagine the ladder half of the video you were in the Pheonix Wright courtroom, and were presenting the evidence!😂

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

lmaooooo thats why i keep using the music XD

[@exohit0]

Hoping that its just a scammer who pretends to be her and not actually her. great video btw

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

thanks!

[@Mewzuw]

14:05 the star at her neckpiece all wrong hurts so much my eyes

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Lol, I know and in her head.

[@ItsMePhiliph]

This is not the real Michelle and something deeper is actually going on... Mark my words...

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I feel it, but it's hard to do more without talking to her directly.

[@ItsMePhiliph]

@@friendlyneighborhoodartist Exactly, lol, I'm so invested now, you surely deserve more views from the art community to help clear this out and bring your quality content more attention...

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

@@ItsMePhiliph HOPEFULLY! ONE DAYYYYY

[@itzreaperwolfson4126]

Its so sad to see someone who was so good with art in the past turn to ai But i can slightly understand why especially with a psychotic break metal strain like that can ruin your art and makenit not look the same or you just dont feel its as good enough as it was in the past in order for you to keep making that quality so taking that i can understand where she might be thinking taking ai and putting it together but its still wrong I just hope and pray that she can draw again or she gets better if she is having mental problems

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

I hope everything is okay from here for her :\

[@alisonalexandre3603]

So, in the end, she was just scamming people with AI. This is the most boring and depressing resolution for this mystery.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Yep, boring and depressing.

[@Karma20XX]

I still think something happened to her to make her resort to this. :(

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Well, I spoke about my theories but I'm not going to engage with her further. If she wants to talk about it, she has platforms.

[@abaliagoob]

the background music during your investigation was super loud and distracting, but thank you for all this evidence compiled and keeping us up to date

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

i'm so sorry >_

[@StuePitt]

what kills me most is that she writes like a foreigner but then asks others whether they are foreigners...? Maybe the mental breakdown actually happened and she's no longer who she once was. It also depends on whether she takes meds or selfmedicates, that could also have a strong influence on her personality, writing style etc. and it could explain why she doesn't want to take picures of herself (maybe she looks awful/thinks she looks awful). Eitherway, I'm deeply disappointed by her, she uses the trust of her fans and scams them out of their money. Maybe she can't work because she has issues and now she's making money with commissions (all just speculations on my part). I partially feel sorry for her but I think she deserves to be exposed like this, cause sorry hon, I do not accept it when the trust of people is abused and that she continuously lies about using AI.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

There was plenty of honest avenues for her to go down, she chose none of them.

[@aiaoi5048]

This is honestly quite unpredictable twist😢

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

The most boring timeline was that she was the scammer :/

[@kiara6237]

I really feel bad for this, and for her as well. I saw a lot of competent artists in the past years basically gave up from art or just surrendering to this tech after the GenAI phenomenon, and I was wondering how it would affect someone in low mental health and I know now, and it is not beautiful. It doesn't make what she does correct or righteous, but if suddenly all my work from a decade or more became food for bigtechs AIshit with no option to sign out I probably would break as well... GenAI is not only eating artists jobs, it is eating our hope.

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

Yeah. It's kind of how I feel :\

[@WhiskeredNightfall]

Damn. This is just sad

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

And dumb, lol

[@namelesschild3724]

that's just sad

[@friendlyneighborhoodartist]

unfortunately.