😰 The BellaToons Situation 😰

🥰If you would like to Join my patreon I will cry happy tears🥰:
🌿 / simplenicks🌿
Please read: I had a few people before and during editing claiming she was older than 16 and potentially an adult when this all took place. unfourtunatyl I had no way of verifying these claims and bella was unavailable to reach out. regardless, I think this does serve an important message considering she was at least a minor when these events started and build up a sizable reputation whether intentionally or not.
There were also dozens of allegactiosn that she had not sent out art commissions of individuals who had been waiting months if not years within this same time frame. Thsi si not new behaviour for her, but considering the possibiltiy that she was a minor when this all began, I want to give the option that there is option to be reddemed after considerable time, apologies, and most importantly amends to those she's wronged.
❗❗DO NOT SEND HATE OR I WILL BITE YOU❗❗
Bella's Socials:
TWITTER:
/ with_replies
INSTAGRAM:
/ bella.buddies
KICKSTARTER:
www.kickstarte...

[@meeksmeerkat3196]

Did anyone else always suspect she wasn't a minor during this? I was watching this happen in real time, and it never seemed right that so many overseas manufacturers would want to work with a minor (Nevermind a minor having all the business/tax/import knowledge to do this in the first place) Working through her parents didn't seem that viable either, unless they had enough time for what is essentially a full-time job. I always felt like she hid under the guise of being a minor to always have an excuse and avoid repercussions. People are more lenient that way.

[@SimpleNicks]

You actually make a pretty good point also consdiering se wouldve had to ahve her parents information to deal business but the father wasnt made aware of the situation until maybe october-november when people were charging back money. That is a goo dpoint and given all the speculartion she quite possibly could be an adult while much of this happened. thank you for that perspective!

[@Jewel_Man_Kisser]

imagine if she's 12 tho.Damn it's time to play heavy metal

[@rubic6222]

one of my friends was really close friends with her, and ig she was saying that she was 15 for 2 years or smthn lmfao she's def lying abt her age

[@fammleton]

Yeah she's been 15 for years she's definitely lying

[@enderkatze6129]

@@SimpleNicks were you drunk while writing that

[@elia2001]

I hate how Bella pretends she's 15 so people won't take legal action. She's been 15 for what, 4 years now?

[@SimpleNicks]

That’s honestly a potential but I had no way of verifying that sadly

[@MANTACORE9]

@@SimpleNicks a way to verify is that she first started selling on kickstarter. On that you have to be 18 or older due to dealing with real money. So by the begining she was already 18 not 15. And it’s five years now so she is atleast 23 most likely 26 . And in amino she said she was 15 but she joined at the begining and was banned around a year leather. Therefore she has to be atleast 23!

[@solarsaber]

I tried to get into contact with her after learning all of this (like months ago) and she just.....ghosted me. I'm very glad since I was an "influencer" she offered to make my plushies for free but it still sucks that I got absolutely nothing from the deal and my fans who were excited to get plushies never even got a chance to buy one. I feel even worse for people who actually PAID for items and never got them. I've been considering making a video about what happened with my plushies and now I just might

[@SimpleNicks]

Hope you can get your experience out, passing on from my video I hope you can shine more of a light on her age since she very well is probably older than i saw from her profiles and it’s certainly something to mention

[@ZoppaTheFurry]

Hi I saw your video of this...😥 P.s. I love your channal

[@bobfootballbobert]

Oh, Bella budddies is a scam. I watched your video about it

[@theferret5346]

Sorry that you dident get your plush :( And got ghosted and everthing

[@nimpapaya821]

I'm so happy you didn't loose anything on this! but on the flip side you now got the opportunity to work with BuildAFur! :D Congratulations, can't wait to have my own Venus Plush! ♥

[@hybridcatbird]

Bellatoons actually wasn’t 15/16 at the time of this scam. She’s been scamming since 2017 (I think) and was banned on amino for it. She claimed to be 15 when she first got banned from the app. She’s been 15 for 3 years lol.

[@SimpleNicks]

yea it was alleged but I had no way of really finding out since a few of her profiles said separate things unfourtunately

[@RUBYthedragon]

@@SimpleNicks Paypal doesn't let you use their services unless you are 18 and above (though it's easy to lie about your age). Kickstarter to. Kickstarter does a full background check before it lets you publish your Kickstarter. You need to have the Kickstarter connected to a social security number. It's wild this went so far. What a shame.

[@fammleton]

Yeah. I can back them up on this I was an active member and had many interactions with bella and she's consistently been rude and a liar/scammer She refuses to change and I am so tired of people just ignoring what shes done after the past few years because of her art

[@faimynth6030]

@@RUBYthedragon This actually isn't completely true, you can use Paypal as a minor as long as you have a parent signed onto it.

[@devilchomps3295]

@@faimynth6030 well that's strange. I've been using it since I was 14 and no parents signed off for it. I've noticed you're less likely to be kicked off PayPal if your bank is WellsFargo though!

[@KaraMagpie]

I liked Bellatoons' art until I found out they were a scammer...

[@DivinityBrainrot0fficial]

Same

[@ketobird4977]

Same

[@DivinityBrainrot0fficial]

@@ketobird4977 F in the chat for all people that liked her artwork and/or looked up to BellaToons until they figured out she was a scammer U_U

[@ketobird4977]

@@DivinityBrainrot0fficial yea, i found her artwork in devianart and follow her aswell

[@DivinityBrainrot0fficial]

@@ketobird4977 F 😔💔

[@cookiecat4203]

I’m really glad that KZbin showed me this even if it’s just a premier cuz I was looking at there insta and thought and buying something

[@OwOdeputy]

I mean if you wanna wait months with no communication and below average art then be my guest

[@SimpleNicks]

being victims to scams happen to the best of us, she has good art and if you werent aware, it wouldve just been too late sadly.

[@arnee4645]

The only reason she made the public statement was because someone by the name of Bristlefr0st message her saying they were getting police involved. I still don’t know what happened to that post or that account. As much as I want the polices to actually aid this I’m not sure what to hope for anymore with this situation

[@RUBYthedragon]

Warrior cats Stans doing the good work I see lol.

[@cookiecat7547]

As a MINOR that handles characters, commissions, and other stuff. I wouldn’t dare think of this. I’ve dealt with hundreds of dollars and whatnot. The way minors have stigmas make me sick. It’s because of stuff like this. I’m sad because I was going to get a plush of my sona from her.

[@cookiecat7547]

@@kittysoftpaws3677 I can definitely understand this! I’m no longer one, however I know the feeling and wish you so much luck!

[@stownjam]

I remember bellatoons She was part of an amino (which tbh it was really immature and had it coming) that promoted her to curator and gave her a VIP which you could only access with amino coins. She ended up scamming most of the community by promising art and never actually doing it and was never really active. She never responded and everyone who joined her VIP were scammed off a lot of amino coins. Fortunately, it's only amino coins and not real money so that's good I suppose. But the community had it coming, they glorified people with amazing art and basically ignored the rest, even if you were decent at it.

[@SimpleNicks]

I will pin this comment! I heard about it but I honestly dont have amino and only got bits and pieces of the situation. it was something like an art contest she didnt award prizes to? I mostly focused on the pins scam so those victims could get heard.

[@SharkyCharlotte]

Hey what amino was it? Just curious. Furry amino sorta banned her immediately so it can't be there

[@stownjam]

@@SimpleNicks Oh no, not that im aware of. It was an furry oc related amino, it's rather small compared to furry amino. What had happened is that the moderation team gave her VIP (which allows other users to subscribe to her, kinda like a membership, but with amino coins) and after promising a art, she fell off the face of that amino, not responding and just ghosting. This happened back in summer of 2020 (if im not mistaken since my memories on the situation are a bit of a blur)

[@stownjam]

@@SharkyCharlotte it was a small amino at the time, not furry amino tho. The amino was a furry oc oriented community.

[@literallypip4499]

@@SimpleNicks I was there, I paid for her art, never got it.

[@gmanmonday]

BELLA IS NOW IN STAR WARS FANDOM AND HER NAME IS CYARECLONES!!!! AND SHE HAS SUCH A LARGE FOLLOWING AND NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT THIS SITUATION

[@SimpleNicks]

Oh i know, i just dont care all that much, people are free to share this video about her

[@shiva.shiva_]

I was on amino with bella, (I’m zodiac, former agent of oca amino) she was so rude, the amino staff favorited her and striked anyone who attacked her for her behavior, me and my friend berrybombs, made many beware posts. Thanks for making this! I’ve contacted a lot of people but nobody replied, glad to see this :) edit: she has scammed people on amino, including me but it was barely anything because amino coins aren’t worth much

[@SimpleNicks]

thats so terrible

[@stownjam]

Damn Im glad im not the only one from OCA in this video I mean I left OCA since then but still lol

[@shiva.shiva_]

@Lori Jimenez LMAO HI

[@Evening.Cicada]

I saw they were banned on furry amino aswell several months back! I didn’t know why until seeing this video!

[@keexshound]

Ah boy,I never really had an experience with her but all I ever known was she was a scammer and power abuser

[@razminfox1787]

Bella’s been 15 for like 5 years she lying about her current age

[@phylogeist6856]

Wow I'm genuinely glad that my parents couldn't pay me one of her plushies, at the time I thought she was just a cool artist but now.. ew just ew

[@SimpleNicks]

a very unfoutunate situation honestly

[@angel.bonez._]

I've personally never heard of them, but from the thumbnail I can tell this'll be fun.

[@SimpleNicks]

it was at least fun to make!

[@angel.bonez._]

@@SimpleNicks lol

[@livly_garden]

Oh my god. I used to be mutuals with Bella back in early 2019 i believe, she used to offer on my adoptable designs with her art and i accepted a few times. She never delivered her art, and she tried to sell off and trade away my designs without completing her side of the trade. So sad to see she has never learned her lesson.

[@jellobelocreates6601]

From my experience i was blocked on her twitter for no reason and when i asked why i said i referenced her art. she said she didnt block people for that and then deleted my comment and never answered me

[@SimpleNicks]

I did also hear about that, however I couldnt get a comment from any current moderators so I couldnt include it without the proof. *sigh* enthics...

[@3amhellbeast]

@@SimpleNicks From what I've noticed Furry Amino's mod team switches pretty frequently so it's likely that the mods possibly don't even know about what had happened, only have a bit of info, or you may have to find mods who had actively dealt with their case. Usually they don't really talk about past cases though even if the user is banned already 🤷‍♂️

[@sadstardust]

I was so very sad to watch this whole situation spiral downhill. I loved Bella’s art and even looked up to her as a small artist myself. I was so excited for her plushies, I wanted to commission her for plushies of my own characters and also wanted to buy every pride fox I could get my hands on. She had something truly great. I hope that maybe in the future she can dial it back for herself and figure it out a little better and maybe redeem her business.

[@SimpleNicks]

im personally glad to see more people talk about redemtion, itll tae time but unlike some thers ive talked about I thin she's not completely beyond hope

[@SteamHyenaz]

This person was so rude to me on insta, when i asked her why she was taking so long on my friends comm (a year and a half)

[@SimpleNicks]

yea she's certanly a piece of work, Im just am glad chargebacks are a thing

[@SteamHyenaz]

@@SimpleNicks Yeah its stressful really, i'm glad you made this video actually, i'm hoping my friend and others will get refunded. I actually have some screenshots of our conversation, because she was extremely hostile.

[@tropicalfox9765]

She ruined her own business she could have been big, her plushies are adorable and I would have seriously considered getting one

[@ScalpxdArtz]

I am a minor myself. I do commissioned custom art works. I take it in small batches though and every week I give updates. I make sure my client is well informed and they get the best result they can. They had such potential and euined it because they didn't know or just didn't care.

[@CosmicRin]

Still waiting for my $50 ($60 including shipping) pride fox... I don't think I'll ever get it, or my money back. I considered backing that eeveelution pin kickstarter too, so I'm glad I didn't do that, at least.

[@thekatmakesart]

As a young fursuit maker, things like this happening worry me. But I’m going to try to be a kind and fair person and never be a Bella

[@Tigereyes6302]

I wad first involved with Bella when I received a stolen design (2:42 top right tiger) in November of 2019. Not only did finding out hurt, it became bothersome that my character was only known for being a stolen design,, I have since redesigned him and I adore him to bits but the situation was stressful to sort out on my own. I'd hoped after that she'd learn from her mistakes and improve as a person but I watched as more and more continued to happen. There are quite a few people who are still owed their product and/or money who haven't yet received either. It's just super unfortunate as Bella is such a talented young artist with beautiful work. I just hope that those who have been affected can receive what they are owed so that they can get closure in this horrible situation

[@cawffeejelly7937]

This is pretty unrelated but maybe you could do a video over tel0din? They copied a handful of closed species, drew underaged nsfw art, feral nsfw, and has been accused of stealing designs. There was a bit of drama about it around a month ago, and they posted an apology recently but they deleted it so i can't help but feel like its a bit.. weird? He keeps doing these things over and over again and people continue to forgive him because he has good art.. I know there's a few bewares out there of him (and im pretty sure theres a doc out there too), but i think the whole story isn't really covered in those and i think you'd do an awesome job of laying it out clearly ^^

[@SimpleNicks]

hmm, I heard a bit about that I might look into it

[@AHylianWarrior]

She's not even old enough to own a legal paypal account this was sketchy from the beginning lol

[@hmmm...2238]

Me: *literally watching duo pixelmon* Notif: BellaToons Situation Me: oh boy another important video

[@SimpleNicks]

🥳

[@PopIkiru]

yikes, i remember seeing her stuff and thinking that i'd throw her money for a custom plush back in june. She seemed to be a viable alternative to Ammyfox so i'm sad that it all fell through

[@ashleybrown7273]

Great video. Bella gives a bad rep to other creaters and minor furs in general. She is either purposely scamming or being extremely negligent. She should have fufilled all her commissions in stages before continuing to make more and more cash grab scams

[@evijajudina9858]

3 more hours untill this masterpiece, can't wait to see it, so sad to see such a pretty Kickstarter turn out to be a scam , only thing saving me from getting scammed was that they didn't ship to Europe.

[@SimpleNicks]

hope you like the video!

[@evijajudina9858]

@@SimpleNicks it was great, helped me see the full picture!

[@Techno-Universal]

Apparently she’s deactivated her main DeviantArt account though that was most likely around October last year!

[@neoleon130]

You deserve so many more subscribers, it is a crime how underrated you are

[@seafoamlupus]

Before her account popped off as much as it had her art style for the most part use to be very referenced from another art account by the name mirandamations she has deleted some of her old work but with a quick search of her u can defo see the resemblance between them! I remeber mirandamations making a insta story addressing the situation a long time ago now and since then she hasn’t said anything and distanced herself from Bella

[@seafoamlupus]

Mainly her old account bella.tooned

[@vipersniper178]

I feel like art style theft isn’t a thing and it shouldn’t be but if she did like trace and stuff yeah that’s bad

[@haileylaclaire2346]

I used to be friends with Bella, she was the same age as me when we first started talking, back in like, 2018. I'm currently 18, turning 19 this year. there is NO way she is the age she claims she is. We originally met on LPS amino, where she was literally banned for scamming people out of paid commissions. There was also an instance where she cut off an LPS custom trade with someone after the other person had already finished their side, and they couldn't really do anything because the custom was of Bella's OC. There was also a time where she made a contest for people to make designs based off of 3 specific colors, and the winner would get a custom of their design. many people entered, and so did I. the end date passed, and she had never said a single word about it. I've even commissioned a custom adopt from her about 2 years ago and she never finished it or sent any WIPs. She's been super sketchy for years now. She may have been a minor at the start, but she certainly isn't now.

[@rhyermine1004]

I Just noticed she took a animal crossing design, AKA Stitches design for the buddy pins logo,And pretty much pasted it on a dog, just stealing a design and pasting it onto a dog is just pure laziness.

[@Neoqhost]

And stitches is a copyrighted design from nintendo. That can lead to extreme copyright situations

[@illusion2136]

I think I might know this girl from amino back in 2018/2019? She went by a different name (which I will not disclose, since the account was deleted), but as far as i can tell, its the same art. She was banned from LPS Amino for, surprise surprise, scamming. Indirectly caused a lot of issues for me. It really is a shame; I looked up to this girl and even considered her a friend. That aside, has she ever heard of a thing called prison?

[@avianberries7604]

I was so sad when I heard this. I loved their plushie style, and I was actually saving up to commission them. I’m glad I know what’s going on before I actually did

[@fr0ggieMOVED]

I only found them by this situation but they are so incredibly talented and skilled and it’s a shame they did all this because they could’ve actually gotten a small business going on.

[@x_furrybean_x]

It really is a shame...

[@foxcaty]

wow i see some of my friends characters in her pin designs, I wonder if they ever got their stuff...

[@Tsumeta]

I'm sad I've looked up to Bella toons at one point this honestly upsets me

[@protoxur1258]

2:41 You can’t claim colors- the bottom one is a different design but with similar colors. The tails, paws, hair, and markings are different-

[@SimpleNicks]

that is fair, but beyond that she does have a history of copying ellie specifically, and thes adopts often came out within days of one another. I think they're pretty close and depending ont he person some people see it as you do which is understandable

[@basilmybeloved7170]

@2:42 im so glad someone found bellas copy of the first eellie design! I remember trying to add that on someone's beware but she deleted it shortly after i found it ;-;

[@Tigereyes6302]

I unfortunately own the character you've mentioned :( I've since redesigned him but it really sucked to learn he was stolen

[@shotacat552]

Shes also been really mean to people tbh. I remember when i used to talk to her people worshipped her on the amino we were in and she sent her fans after me for little reason. I stopped using it since then, but i knew from back then shes been scamming and being toxic to people but no one listened. Now its all blown up. Crazy to see tbh...

[@skypony243]

They are actually much older then 15. They had an amino from 2015 (now deactivated) and in their bio they said that their age was 15 then. So they are at the very least 20/21 as of 2020/2021 :/

[@queenmilk9861]

People like bellatoons terrify me. Not just because of the scamming but the age. I'm young myself, around 19, and I have barely accomplished anything in life so far so for a 15 year old to start a business is intimidating me. I might just be weak mentally on that point, but that's the kind of people who can make me wanna give up on everything. Sorry to make it a sad comment but these situations suck, great video though.

[@kioku119]

Notice she didn't succeed at doing it. Almost no 15 year old even tries and fewer could. Also apparently there's quite a few things that suggest she may have straight up lied about her age and may not actually be a minor at all.

[@kramenisfalling]

Don't be discouraged, everybody does stuff at their own pace. And also she's been lying about her age. She's been "15" for several years at least, probably not actually even a minor if she had was running her own Kickstarter and getting involved with overseas companies

[@bra1nr0tt3n]

I still have to continue the video but yOUR ART STYKE AND TALENT IS JUST AMAZING 🥺🥺🥺

[@SimpleNicks]

cries, thanks!

[@bra1nr0tt3n]

@@SimpleNicks AKXKSKF THE SECOND I SAW YOUR REPLY I ALMOST SCREAMED. 🥺🥺🥺 you’re so talented

[@cottage_bird]

I followed her on Instagram for a very long time and I was initially saving up to get a blanket commission featuring art of my main fursona and my husband's. Right around the time I was thinking of reaching out to her is when all this had happened. I had seen her posts on her stories about people harassing her about art and money and her excuse was that she was still in high school and that people need to get off her back. Let's assume that she is a minor, if so, she shouldn't be taking commissions or starting all this if high school is keeping her that busy. Or just school in general, minor or not. She decided to take up the mantle of being a very popular artist due to her unique style, and she should have known where to stop with her ambitions or she should have known when to close custom orders and commissions. I'm glad someone's talking about this because it all blew up online real fast and then fizzled out because of the age excuse. I didn't start suspecting she was making up her age until recently, especially since I heard that her dad, who supposedly was helping her with business and whatnot, didn't know about the situation till she dropped off of the internet, which is really suspicious. Minor or not, she should be held accountable for her actions. I hope everyone here gets refunds one day, because this whole situation is ridiculous.

[@B4ckbone_0f_The_Vs]

The thing is she wasnt a minor kickstarter requires you to be 18+ beca your handling real money and they ask for like all sorts of stuff I think like IP address or whatever so there is no way she could have gotten into kickstarter without being 18 or older

[@RACOONAFIED]

I know that this is a year old Do you realise that minors don't care? Hell, there are many minors with PayPal/Venmo/patreon accounts, and a Kickstarter account would definitely be accessible to a minor (cuz fun fact, minors do lie about their age :3)

[@B4ckbone_0f_The_Vs]

@@RACOONAFIED u didn’t read my comment 😂

[@RACOONAFIED]

@@B4ckbone_0f_The_Vs I did read it, and yes minors do have Kickstarter accounts Their parents can set it up for them, did you forget about that?

[@delaneyengleman5865]

coming from a minor who tried to do stuff like this in the past, this is definitely a minor who was in over her head. Its easy to lie and find loopholes when ordering from companies and making a kick starter account. I used to make adopts and then I started getting way more business then expected and I dropped off the face of the earth after being so overwhelmed. I had a lot of adopts and characters getting stolen and resold which came back to me instead of the scammer getting blamed. I honestly believe she is a minor who got carried away. If she really wanted to JUST take peoples money she wouldn’t have gone so far into development. I think her intentions were good but she made a big mistake. I think the best thing she can do right now is to begin refunding everyone

[@ReesesBees]

uh, no. Bella isn't a minor; people have confirmed that she's had her age be 15 for years and never changed it. Paypal and Kickstarter don't let anyone under 18 make an account or even gain money on their platforms; any that do are banned.

[@LinkyMew]

1:19 I heard from twitter or smth that she lied about her age, and she'd be around 19-20. Someone had mentioned that they had first seen them on amino when they were 13/14 or so and they had said they were 15

[@SimpleNicks]

Yea I’ve gotten quite a few comments saying that same thing, honestly unfortunate

[@LinkyMew]

@@SimpleNicks Yeah. (though, in a way, it makes me feel better about my art as a 16 y/o lmao) I really like your style of video formatting and judging character. I’ve also watched out your Sparky video and I love how you try to see from other people’s perspectives. Keep up the wonderful work!

[@hypnocrite5800]

Thank you for making this video!! I am one of the victims of her eeveelutions pin Kickstarter. I’ve contacted her three months back about getting a refund or my product and three weeks ago she asked for my details and a receipt so she could give me a refund. I haven’t heard from her since and I’m still short $30 ish dollars :/

[@LittleSatyr]

She also hosted an art contest on furry amino with a heck ton of entries, then she dipped off of amino before she dipped off of everything else. She was active on twitter for well over a month after she left amino without a response despite staff attempting to contact her multiple times regarding the contest. Not as big of a deal but it does add onto the pile

[@JJ-vd1cv]

Thanks for the information. I was pretty intrigued on this topic for a while when I just got a snippet of it from somebody on my Pinterest.

[@rowan-priince1860]

wow, their art is beautiful. I hate that they felt the need to scam people.

[@CatzillaArt]

I almost bought like 3 things from her but I'm so glad I decided not to. Her art is so good and she was so successful, but it's so sad

[@enchantedpineapple5591]

Oh yeah! I remembered her! I actually own one of her designs before I knew the drama!

[@upgradeninja7350]

This was really sad I want to commission them since I loved their plushies and they were at a price I could actually afford

[@SimpleNicks]

I was actually considereing getting luna plushes from her some day...

[@zombunnycreations3834]

Another awesome video like always! Such a shame that this has happened cause the style and plushes were so cute. Thank you for another awesome informational video 💞

[@AlyssaSoftPaw]

I don't even use the art I got from her anymore, I refuse to associate my characters with someone like her

[@Sandwichscoot]

I used to follow her, and I actually remember the posts in the video. It really sucks how she scammed people

[@miachimueloanimations4418]

You draw pretty good! I love your content! ❤️

[@SimpleNicks]

Thank you so much 😀

[@alexmackrell1385]

This situation was so weird to me, because I was the one that commissioned that red and green canine design that SpicyDoodle made, and I was also following BellaToons at the time, SpicyDoodle contacted me about it and handled the situation very well, although I don't own the design anymore, it's still very weird to see so much drama around it

[@squeakerdoeseverything]

I REMEMBER YOU!!!- i use to be subscribed to you on my old account omggg!! Your videos are great, I’m subbing💕💕

[@jellylemonade1655]

But the hard thing to accept is. She won't give refunds. She won't ship the products. She won't apologise. She's scammed people and has gotten alot money. Do you think she would just give it back? I don't think so.

[@monsterajmoved]

If Buds actually shipped the plushies, her art, her products, and did not lie, she could of got a successful business, and could of made ALOT of money.

[@monsterajmoved]

Hehe i just heard the explanation and it was the same exact thing

[@juztaboutbright]

Hello! This isn’t really important but I used to follow her on Instagram before her account was deleted. We talked for a bit after I made her fanart! She always told me that she was busy with selling plushies and drawings for others so I blocked it off, after seeing this video I am glad I stopped talking to her

[@Zoiby]

bella scammed a lot of people before she started bella buddies. it wasn't anywhere near this amount of money but it took a lot of persuasion and many months for her to apologise and refund people i don't think she's hiding because she's overwhelmed or anything like that, i wouldn't be surprised if she was just trying to run off with people's money again bc she's doing the same stuff she was doing the first time this happened (ghosting people, abandoning/deleting accounts, not being transparent about the situation, etc.)

[@mariagovea2220]

It's nice to know Solar acknowledged you for your info as well.

[@metro_mutt]

Curious whats going on, tried buying a character from bella one time but never got a response oop. wondering what they did (5000 kickstarter scam is pretty interesting thumbnail tho)

[@avathefur]

They scammed a lot of art, didn’t provide plushies, terrible communication and stole characters. That’s what I heard at least!

[@metro_mutt]

@@avathefur yikes 😬 might have dodged a bullet then

[@chickenpicnic3019]

DAMN, as a younger artist looking to make more money and maybe make some money for myself with a rapidly growing concept, this was SOOOOOOO helpful. new sub btw, maybe look into getting a mic but otherwise i love ur vibes! hell yea

[@SimpleNicks]

if you have a smartphone or an iphone no need to get a mic

[@valentinespring8600]

Aughhh, her style and designs were so cute! We can never have good things, huh? Also off-topic- your fursona is so cute!!

[@tropicalmermaidd]

I remember when she started Bella buddies I was so close to commissioning her but I’m so glad I didn’t

[@thebucketqueenart]

I hate I was one of the lucky few who got a refund, everyone who commissioned her deserves a refund.

[@SimpleNicks]

they certainly do!

[@maxiepython8959]

yes! I was force refunded by paypal but two of my close friends have not received refunds. Its so upsetting that she's pretending that if you dm her she'll refund you. She didn't contact me once during the refund process or me asking for one. :/

[@durren1061]

omg ive been wanting to know the situation with her for so LONG THANK YOU!! no one would answer me when i asked around on twitter

[@kaitlintemplar3719]

a reason I never trust people who sell second hand adopts cause they cycle through so many users no one keeps track and then people don't know later down the road if it was stolen

[@Songo555]

Wildly enough, I managed to get art from this person on ChickenSmoothie. The first few orders I actually got, then she just... disappeared. Amazing seeing this pop up in my reccs.

[@wishingmelodies]

I used to follow her when she was an lps artist, really sad to see how progressively worse she got over the years. Hopefully everyone gets their money back somehow, this is really upsetting.

[@ThaneOfLichen]

Oh no... I used to love her art! Sad to see her go like this...

[@uni_meadows]

God, BellaToons. I remember shit going down with her and Build-a-fur, who I'm friends with. Build-a-fur is the other plush manufacturing company that started before she did by months. I remember BAF being under a lot of heat because she was worried BT was tracing her work/poses (which was true). Then things got really bad when bellatoons (bellabuddies) started to rally her fans/friends to spread lies about BAF, like how she used "child labor" in the manufacturing process. But BAF couldn't really say anything because Bellatoons was ~*just a baby minor uwu~& and could get away with it. She's toxic as hell and I'm glad people are calling her out on it.

[@lilydrawsart5756]

holy crap- i had no idea this happened at all! i don't really look at comments on insta so that may be why i didnt know. it feels so weird seeing this as i really looked up to her. this makes me feel like i need to watch all creators i follow to be sure that they arent crummy people. i remember really wanted one of the plushies but didnt have any money. very sucky situation for commissioners. :( also i dont really belive that we are basically the same age. yes young people can have amazing art but it seems kinda... fishy i guess. plus as another person said, how would companies be so willing to work with her especially because she is under 18. and if she were to be using a guardians account, how didnt they notice???

[@Goldthecat]

I looked up to this artist and really hope they can grow from the situation. 🤭 I was surprised to see Bellatoons committed creative plagiarism, news to me. I personally feel like minors and starting artists shouldn’t be cancelled over tracing/design theft, as imitation is how every artist starts. I’m sure the backlash will be a learning experience. This video was super informative, thank you!

[@Goldthecat]

Coming back from Solarsaber’s vid! I missed the part when you mentioned she was lying about her age, and if that’s so she very well knows creative theft is wrong.

[@alyssahallod7343]

I hate when amazing creators and people with amazing talents turn to scams and theft cause it’s such a shame! Cause if they were genuine people they could’ve been an amazing part of the fandom! I’m an artist and I’m working hard! I’ve only gotten 2-3 commissions in my time as a furry artist and EVERYTIME I make sure to constantly communicate. I start as soon as I can, I communicate as much as I can. And I hope there’s never a misunderstanding when it comes to my work. I hope there’s a way she can fix this, if she truly is that young. Cause she’s talented and can do amazing things she just needs to do what’s right and refund the people who want the refunds. She started too big when she needed to start small and grow from there

[@nightmareblu1848]

She was one of the FIRST artists I followed on Instagram cause of how cute her art was. I wanted to commision her to for like a while. She was I'm pretty sure the SECOND person I followed and supported. I was SO CLOSE to having my mom make a plush order for my b-day. So happy I seen that she was actually a scammer before my mom sent the money.

[@0TiredGhost0]

I actually kinda looked up to bellatoon’s art because it’s so good But one day she did a contest on amino, she was offering 18000ac to the winner and everyone who joined got 100ac She never gave anyone anything, she stole the art (basically) and then got banned from the furry amino I one was of the people who joined the contest and I actually worked really hard on the art and I don’t even think she gave credit

[@CobaltStarCat]

I bought a sticker from her redbubble and now I'm worried that it might be traced. It'll really suck if it is cause I really like it and have stuck it to my tablet :/

[@artsintheam]

I really looked up to her so this really hurts :(

[@unokitsune]

Hey @Simple Nicks I know you are doing a lot of call outs on scammers. I was wondering how you felt about eventually talking about contracts, physical contracts?

[@SimpleNicks]

physical contracts in what sense? can you give an example?

[@unokitsune]

@@SimpleNicks I know he may be British but I suggest giving Judge Rinder a look. Sadly I cannot find full episodes but he talks a lot about the importance of having a physical contract between a contractor and a client. A contractor can even be an artist such as a fursuit maker. Reasonable things to add to a contract would include a Time Table, Cost of supplies and reference to such supplies. A list of social media and emails. Requirements of pictures. It will include signature lines for both the Client and the Contractor (Fursuit Maker) And I know this might not be related but you are talking to someone who went up against a Corporate and won. Here is proof: imgur.com/a/l5KYtlg

[@unokitsune]

@@SimpleNicks Let me write up a Sample if I cannot find one. I am not sure how long I will be at the moment I have to do some research first and it will be based on Washington State laws

[@unokitsune]

@@SimpleNicks I paid some money to ask a lawyer about this. It will take at least 1 Business Day.

[@unokitsune]

@@SimpleNicks I used the more expensive prices on Fursuits when I asked my question. But Lawyers seem confused on this industry leading me to believe not many fursuiters talk to lawyers unless they are one. I got an answer sooner than expected: Lawyer answers a Fursuit contractor question. imgur.com/a/FrhCa0P However it doesn't really work as I have seen clients run away with suits without paying the maker. That was a $20,000 suit with LED's and moving electronic pieces. I did get a standard lawyer written free to use contractor contract. It needs verbiage added specifically for fursuits such as when you ask a maker for pictures you get it within a reasonable time frame say 12 hours to allow for opposite sides of the planet and hours etc.

[@jocelynmilne5746]

I was going to back that Kickstarter and I’m glad I didn’t

[@nekoredgamer4324]

I wish it wasent a scam i rlly want some plushies 😭

[@kittyfurmegaming46]

I know this video is a Lil old but I remember when I was watching one of her live streams on Instagram I herd her brother or someone in the background say that she traces her art I didn't know of it was true or not

[@TheFloraBonBon]

Its actually sad that that bella could've made double or triple the amount of money if she didn't scam, trace or ghosted people. But I guess she didn't think of that.

[@mashedtortillas2424]

I commissioned her, I asked for it to be done by a certain date and even paid a little extra for it to be finished by that date,, that date comes around and she just stops replying,, I did get a refund but she sent way too much to me but I never told her since she blocked me

[@Apollyon.404]

You can’t start a Kickstarter unless your 18+ it asks for proof I forgot what it was but she is older then she says she is lying

[@lani9084]

i was friends with bella ever since she started her instagram. she heavily referenced mirandamations' art and designs CONSTANTLY and never really apologized. she also currently owns my old closed species :') which sucks bc i dont think she fully paid off what she offered lol

[@codyroth5418]

CactiMutt actually commisioned a few years back when I was younger and she was super dramatic (note I was literally 15 and she was *21) I might end up making a video later in life. But she wasn’t pleasant

[@brdskullzz6279]

one of my friends (maxiepython) was in the buddy pins art, idk if they were given credit for the character?? but im gonna mention it to them in the gc i have with other friends. this actually really helped

[@cupcakeweirdo7860]

My god, I actually helped get her banned from Furry Amino and demoted from leader in OCA She like banned me from her bases because she lied and said I didn't credit her when I actually did and then didn't refund me :') She made new fake accounts on insta with a slightly different style, I caught her and scared the fuck out of her and made her delete them lmao it was sooo funny

[@everyonestears8564]

Bella has been a scammer for YEARS. I'm surprised people are only realizing this and making videos on this now 😐

[@Super_silly9]

4:10 look to the far left you should see a dog looking character with multiple colors on him I realized he looked oddly familiar so doing more research I found out this is a animal crossing character named patches.

[@FerreTrip]

>Dia de Muertos Eeveelution pins O. M. G. I am SO disappointed because one of these would combine two things my mother adores, her birthday (Nov. 2!) and Eevee. I would buy one so fast, but it doesn't look like it'll happen :( Hope she gets things under control soon! (Or that she at least stops the bullshit if she really is in fact not a minor.)

[@pocketslushy]

I was scammed by her a year ago before I ever even knew she was a scammer, I bought a headshot to help her cause she wanted to buy some closed species (which she has since now abandoned) and that led me down a rabbit hole of non-sense. Glad people are finally making videos on this mess now. I don't entirely forgive her, mainly because when she'd say she would catch up on orders for...really anything, she'd then go and open up slots for something else and the same thing would happen. She's irresponsible and part of me does not think she's a minor, mainly with the kickstarter and plushy/pin company deal. I just hope all the people involved get their money back :/