Cawthon’s Five Nights At Freddy’s horror game series has built a massive fanbase since its inception, with Cawthon attracting a fanbase so large that a Five Nights At Freddy’s movie is in the works to satisfy fans’ craving for more content. The massive fanbase, however, is being torn apart by recent actions from the series creator.
RELATED: Twitch’s New Trans Tag Is Great, But Not Enough
Fans who searched for Scott Cawthon on Open Secrets, an index of public political contributions, noticed that the developer has made significant monetary contributions to a number of conservative politicians such as Senator Mitch McConnell and former president Donald J. Trump. With the huge popularity of the Five Nights At Freddy’s series, a significant portion of the fanbase have taken to social media such as Twitter and Reddit to voice disappointment for Cawthon’s donations, and as a result both he and Five Nights At Freddy’s have been trending topics on Twitter for the past several days.
The latest Cawthon-related trend on Twitter is “#istandbyscott,” with the tag page filled with both hurt fans venting their frustrations and unaffected fans defending Cawthon’s donations. Cawthon himself has responded to the situation, confirming the donations are indeed real and he was not hacked as some fans assumed. This news undercuts the hype surrounding the upcoming Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach, and many fans who find out may refuse to buy Cawthon’s future games.
Many former fans are pointing out that the single Democratic politician Cawthon donated to, Tulsi Gabbard, is specifically targeting gay and transgender people with her policies, which given Five Nights At Freddy’s’ large LGBTQIA+ fanbase is upsetting to a large amount of Cawthon’s fans and former fans. The series has gained a massive following and prestigious reputation, with recent major reveals happening at large industry events such as last year’s PlayStation 5 Showcase.
Judging by Cawthon mentioning in his response that the response may be his final Reddit post, it appears he wants to distance himself from the fanbase he has built. While much of the community is disappointed in his actions, with many members leaving the Five Nights at Freddy’s fandom entirely, other members continue contributing to the #istandwithscott trend, constantly posting support for the developer. The revelation of Cawthon’s donations has caused a large rift in the community that will be difficult if not impossible to mend, and former fans of the series may begin to gravitate to other horror games, such as the upcoming Inscription from developer Daniel Mullins.
MORE: E3 2021 - Schedule, Where To Watch, Everything Announced, & More
Source: OpenSecrets, Reddit
