Petition Launched to Re-Release Steel Panther Guitarist’s ‘Pussy Melter’ Effects Pedal
Following uproar over the "Pussy Melter" effects pedal sold and created by TC Electronics in a partnership with Steel Panther guitarist Satchel, the company pulled ads for the product and it appears not to be available any longer. Now, an online petition has been launched to counter the one started to have the item pulled in the first place - and it's getting more support than the petition looking to keep the pedal off the market because it is offensive.
Created by Daniel Devoy, the response petition is titled, "Release The 'Pussy Melter TonePrint By Satchel' On TC Electronic Effects." It's a reply to the one by Braids guitarist Jessica Fennelly, who initially brought attention to the name of the pedal and its TC Electronics description, stating in a social media post, "What f*cking year is this???" She encouraged people to sign a petition urging TC Electronics to take down their promotion for the pedal. It has 951 signatures as of press time.
Devoy's petition, which is sitting at over 1,500 signatures at press time, states of Fennelly's request that it's, "unfair for a small number of personal objections to have the power to dictate the will of an independent company." The statement in support of the faux-'80s rockers can be read in full below.
This petition was started to show the support by musicians for the "Pussy Melter" preset on TC Electronic pedals. TC electronic has bowed to pressure by a number of musicians on the grounds that the product was sexist, and personally offended them. We want to asses how many people hold the opposite view, and believe that people have the right to enjoy all kinds of products and humour, while other have the right to not buy or endorse those things.
Our argument is that it is unfair for a small number of personal objections to have the power to dictate the will of an independent company. We in no way blame TC Electronic for their decision to remove the product for fear of bad press. This petition is an appeal for the company to take a pro-consumer and anti-censorship stance on the issue.
This petition is in no way an adversarial act towards any of the people involved in creating the original petition which had the product removed. This is simply to assess the number of people in opposition to TC Electronics decision to remove or alter the product.
There's been no response thus far by TC Electronics to the latest petition, with their more recent comment on the matter coming in a statement which said in part, "We recognize that the material was inappropriate and we have removed the TonePrint in question from the app and we will take it down from our website as soon as possible. We sincerely apologize."
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