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The Peter Bernard Affair
Tibbie X is the lead singer of a chaos punk band known
as The X-Possibles. She is also the (former?) star of a cable access
show known as Rools Like Ozzy, which is run by Peter Bernard
. I first met Tibbie last year and interviewed her. The two of us quickly
became close friends. She has a killer('s) sense of humor. But—equally importantly—Tibbie
is a firm believer in Team Player. Team Player means that you are loyal to
your friends and you maintain that loyalty in front of others. You never
denigrate your friend behind their back, especially to other friends (let
alone strangers).
Peter is not the sort of person I am usually friends with.
He is somewhat boorish for my tastes, a little older than most people I know
and a lot balder. There is no question, looking at him, that he is not the
product of quality breeding and refinement. But this was meaningless, since
he was an associate of Tibbie's and I would therefore treat him with decorum.
Peter had decided to make a movie starring Tibbie entitled Punk Rock
Zombie Kung Fu Cock Fight. As part of the climax of the film he videotaped
an X-Possibles concert at Don Hill’s in May of this year. I went, of course,
and took many pictures that night (as did many other audience members that
were there that night).
The next day I uploaded the photos to my server and emailed
Tibbie the links to those photos. In her livejournal (an on-line diary service)
she linked to one of the photos of herself, 'tibbie13.jpg'. I came home to
find the following email:
Subject: Photos from Don Hills must be taken down
From: Peter
To: Michael Malice
Cc: Tibbie, Nico [Tibbie’s fiancé and my friend]
Hi,
I don't think Tibbie explained to Nico or Michael that photographers taking
pictures at Don Hills during the X-Possibles performance had to be approved
by me or Tibbie because we own all movie photography in exchange for 1% ownership
of the film (which I suppose is now due Michael Malice IF photographs from
the movie are approved by me and Tibbie and released).
Once photos have been approved, the photographer has full rights to also
use the photos as they see fit, but I need all photos approved by both me
and Tibbie.
As co-producer, I was assuming Tibbie was communicating this, then I see
she linked to an onstage photo in her livejournal.
I would politely yet firmly insist that this be taken care of at the earliest
possible moment. If I can't control photography and publicity from my own
movie, I have no reason to finish the project. This is not an area open for
negotiation.
Thanks,
Peter
Before I even saw the first email, he had already sent another:
OK I checked the Malice site and they're not linked for public viewing,
that's cool, sorry I asked they be taken down. However, Tibbie, please don't
link to any more photos, that's TOTALLY UNCOOL.
Also, I've downloaded tibbie1 through tibbie 15 from the Malice site,
but why did I have to locate them on my own? Lack of communication gets
interpreted as disrespect by me and I cut people off who disrespect me,
so only do that when you're finished with me for real.
Thanks,
Peter
Don Hill's is a club just like any other, and calling a performance by
a band "a movie" and thereby claiming ownership is absurd. Even if it were
a legitimate movie and I somehow snuck onto the set and took photos, they
would still be my irrevocable copyright. And this is obviously the case, as
the thriving paparazzi industry can attest.
Now, I hadn't intended to post those photos on my site in any case, so
I replied thus:
Dear Peter,
I hadn't realized the photos were an issue in any way. Did you mean that
_I_ disrespected you, Tibbie did, Nico did or all 3? That wasn't my intent,
of course. Just wanted to be sure before I'm one of those people you cut
off...
To which he replied, cordially:
My only conflict with Tibbie is that I gave her 50% of the film so that
she'd help me out with things like this, I'm overworked. There was a letter
sent out saying no photography except by approved photographers, and Tibbie
should have made that clear to you--I feel very evil insisting I have control
over release of your photos when we had no prior agreement.
Whatever, she was preoccupied and this is all new territory.
I just wrote hate mail to one fan of a former hostess and one NY Waste
photographer. We both specifically didn't want Waste coverage of our
movie, they don't know how to print the truth anymore. We reach 3 times
as many people with the mailers and the web site and tv show reach more than
the mailers, so the Waste is irrelevant to us, and they always run the photos
Tibbie asks them not to run. Please don't pass that on to them, she can tell
them herself if she wants them to know.
Do you know a girl that would wrestle with Tibbie at 3 pm this Sunday
at her place? Preferably in a skimpy outfit.
Peter
I told him that I didn't. I also offered my help with the script, since
Tibbie had told him that she wanted me in the film and he agreed. He didn't
need my help—there was no script per se to work on:
Tomorrow I hope we're lucking out--this girl I got to come last second
has done fetish wrestling videos before and she knows wrestling and martial
arts and can't wait to get physical with Tibbie. I wonder if they got the
cats?
I told him that yes, Tibbie and Nico had gotten the cats that day (as
they had planned to do for a while).
Things fell apart here. Peter called Tibbie screaming that "Michael Malice
knows more about your life than I do" and started denouncing me as a racist
and a Nazi. His evidence of this is that, in February, I referred to the
people in the hospital with Tibbie as roaches. I don’t remember saying that
but I most certainly could have, since I am a snob and hate gross people,
who are known to frequent wards. Tibbie explained to Peter that I am not a
racist and not a Nazi, since I am Jewish. Peter seemed mollified.
He wrote:
Michael,
I admit I don't get alot of where you're coming from but I'm glad you're
always there to help Tibbie out and to help take care of her. She's really
important to me and I'm sometimes overprotective but you seem to treat her
well and that's cool. I can't deal with her being in pain again but I'm glad
she's got real friends around her.
Peter
I replied:
Yeah, I'll be the first to admit I never understand scene politics. If
everyone was nice to people they liked and ignored people they didn't then
life would be easier all around.
Thanks for your kind words.
Michael
Soon after Tibbie left for a month-long tour of Europe with her band.
Peter was to finish editing the movie while she was gone. Tibbie asked me
to run her livejournal while she was away. Nico didn’t have the time and,
for whatever her reason, she did not want Peter to do it. Peter was going
to send me one photo every day from the film and I would put it up on Tibbie's
behalf.
This was the situation for several days. During that time I hung out a
couple of times with Nico, who I am also friends with. At one point Tibbie
called him from Europe and I spoke to her for a brief time. The next day
I posted the following on my site:
X-Possibles Update
The X-Possibles left for their month-long European tour earlier this week
(yay!). I got a very quick call from Tibbie X yesterday afternoon. She refuses
to tell me the full story over the phone as "It's just too funny" and she
has to do it in person. The only selected highlights that I've got so far
is that Sen. Rikki Chips [the guitarist] turned up totally plastered, nine
people arrived instead of the expected eight, and the police were called
out twice. Details on the first occasion are fuzzy, but the second involved
finding out the hard way that the van did not fit through the Heathrow tunnel.
A pal of the band was riding in the totally enclosed back of the van at the
time and he almost had a heart attack shouting, "What are you trying to get
us fucking killed?". The van is also missing a wing mirror in a separate
incident.
More details will follow as they arrive...
Peter, in the interim, was complaining on his livejournal that he knew
nothing about the tour or how sales were going. I e-mailed him "I think merch
sales have been only OK..."
"On what information is this supposition based?"
"I'm just relaying what tibbie told me..."
This is the last contact Peter and I have had.
That night he sent me a frantic e-mail:
"When? In what form? Have you spoken to her on the phone? In e-mails?
You spoke about merchandising?"
Before I responded to that last email, I got the following three emails:
If she's been in contact with you more than with me, then she is fired.
Tell her she has 24 hours to explain why she never got back to me about
the MTV thing. Ask her if you could get her in on MTV. Then ask her why
she fucked up so stupidly and pulled such a P5 [a former obsession of his]
move--testing to see if I would be 'jealous' of you. Her last few days she
kept insisting I was jealous of you or Nico or whatever. I'm not jealous,
I just need to be treated as a business partner, period.
I can just give the MTV guy a tape of Sex Slaves and tell him that honestly,
they're more popular. This guy wants me to have his band on my show, he was
just buttering me up about X-Possibles to get on Rools, it turns out.
As far as I'm concerned, the tv show and movie are now over and she would
have to convince me to revive them.
Thanks alot, Malice, you're a peach.
Peter
Also no more photos from the movie. Please don't post any more photos
from the movie until my conflicts with TIbbie are resolved, if they ever
are, thanks. I'm beginning to remove Tibbie-related material from my web
site as of now.
Thank you,
Peter
And finally, to the three of us,
Subject: TIBBIE IS FIRED
I just read malice's web site. You are able to call Malice on the phone
yet not even e-mail me. The updates on your tour appear on malice's web
site and not Rools Like Ozzy???? You are fired off Rools Liek Ozzy, I heve
NEVER been so disrespected in my life, even P5 never sunk so low.
YOU SUCK TIBBIE X
I didn’t know how to deal with this not at all Low Rent, very appropriate
behavior, so Nico emailed him.
Peter,
The reason that Tibbie spoke to Michael is that Tibbie called me up on
my cellphone while I was with Michael on Thursday. They exchanged a few brief
words and then Michael handed the phone back to me.
nico.
Peter wrote back to him:
I find it curious that this excuse was not given during our several telephone
conversations, Nico, but only after there was time for commisseration.
As I explained to Maya, when Tibbie chose to release info about the tour
to Malice, she was effectively firing me from my [volunteer] role doing publicity
in the states, or at least demoting me. I was hurt because I thought I had
done a good job for her. So all my bluster about me firing her is just my
effort to save face about her dissing me in this manner. It doesn't leave
me in any sort of position where I can easily forgive Tibbie, even though
I could interpret your letter below to imply that this is all Malice's fault.
I'm extremely uncomfortable with this and I'm going to leave the web sites
down until new arrangements are made between me and Tibbie or until I find
new people to work with. I'll deliver the materials to MTV however, later
today. I wish the X-Possibles good luck in advance getting on that TV network.
Peter
I talked to Nico and told him that I didn't sign up to deal with this
unprofessional nonsense, and I did not appreciate invective from my inferiors
and towards my friends. I found it absurd that Peter would be causing drama
for Tibbie while she was away, while our responsibility as people who care
about her should be to hold down the fort and keep her NYC life as stress-free
as possible. I blacklisted Peter from my email at this point, meaning that
any email he sent me would be deleted automatically by my email system, and
stopped looking at his livejournal. I also told Nico that I had my own photos
of Tibbie that would last til she returned, and he concurred that that would
be the most reasonable solution to this ugliness.
So every day I put up a photo of Tibbie and/or the band. Peter at this
point started complaining—on Tibbie’s own ivejournal—that I was using 'his'
photos and putting my copyright on them illegally. He called Nico to tell
him that, unfortunately, he now had no choice but to sue [!] Tibbie and myself.
Nico flipped and told him to never call him again.
Peter then proceeded to complain about this through the comments section
on Tibbie’s own site, and was joined in by Polycat, an old lady friend of
his who writes a livejournal about the adventures of her cat. I said nothing.
Then, one day a friend of Peter's posted on Tibbie's site as well. He
is one of The Minors, a band best known for being underage and for their
subtle political commentary song 'I Forgive You Osama.' He wrote:
yo, we all noe [sic] tibby [sic] x is hott [sic],
and a fox but all these fucking pictures of her, just ruin it, oit [sic
] was fun waiting to go see her play just [sic] t [sic]
tr [sic] to sneek [sic] a peek up her skirt, but ow [sic
] all i think of tibby x, is that she is a self obsorbed [sic]
egotisical [sic] bastard!, sorry tibby
Peter replied within minutes, almost as if this were all planned:
Dude, don't blame her, it's this other guy posting all these photos. In
fact, these are all photos owned by the movie. He agreed these photos are
owned by me and Tibbie because they were all shot during the filming, yet
now he's acting like a bigshot and putting his copyright on them and overexposing
them without my permission. I gave Tibbie 50% ownership but the understanding
I thought was that I was in charge. Tibbie's in Europe and I'm basically
biting my tongue [!] till she gets back but this dude Malice is a problem
and he's going to have to be dealt with BEFORE the movie gets released, trust
me.
I AGREE WITH YOU this is NOT the image of Tibbie [actually, this is untrue
in the literal sense] I had before she left and this is NOT the image I wanted
for our movie. If Tibbie thinks this guy Malice is doing a good job, then
I kind of agree with you and I will distance myself from her. This is SO
not cool, the way this is being carried out, it's TOTAL sellout, which is
to be expected because the Malice guy is this yuppie nerd dork guy who hates
the poor and homeless. I teamed up with Tibbie because I had been homeless
and she had been a runaway and I NEVER expected to see her allowing a yuppie
control her image this much. If she's become a republican or whatever I
will speak out against her. I totally love her as an artist and as a person
but I am in agreement with you that this is all sellout ego crap. I have
faith in her that she's just too far away to want to deal with this moron.
Come to the movie premiere-- I'm organizing it and Malice is banned from
the premiere. If Tibbie has a problem with that, she doesn't have to come
to the premiere either, because it's a punk rock premiere and no sellouts
allowed. No Malice, no Malice supporters, no yuppies, no sellouts, period.
This in my opinion crossed the line. I firmly believe, and Tibbie agrees,
that personal problems are not to be made public--and certainly not on Tibbie’s
own site. At this point I removed Peter from tibbie’s friends list, which
meant that he would be unable to post comments on her site.
He lost it.
Someone named SnackDaddy, who I still don’t know, replied to Peter’s
comment.
Dude, I dont know you, but first I'd like to say you're a talented artist.
In my opinion, which counts for absolutely nothing, Tibbie isn’t selling
out.
A few pics does not a sellout make. Besides, this is Live Journal, it's
not a primetime mini-series, hardly selling out, especially on Live Journal.
If she takes up with someone who pays her rent and puts her up and she
forgets her struggle then shes a sellout.
Or if she signs with some label who wants her to dress and sing what they
tell her to, then shes a sellout.
I recall one entry where she walked out on a print job cause they wanted
to dress the x-possibles in different clothes.
I never met Tibbie, but someday hope to.
And some Republicans have been homeless too and have struggled.
Keep the faith.
SnackDaddy
Peter logged in under an alias, Hugothrock, and started posting as if
he was someone else:
Whoever is posting the photos is being crass about it, and that makes
Tibbie look less cool.
Wheelchair, someone on Tibbie’s friends list but no one she’s actually
met, jumped in here to mock Peter.
I'm saving all these pics and will be posting them in my HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL
Live Journal WHEELCHAIR
as a photo story where I give myself 100% CREDIT! It's a rough ride through
the life and times of a cripple/pedophile who has "sold-out" and "works-for-the-man".
He is besieged on all sides by the "homeless" and "punk" and all other manner
of smug dickhead guys. His only friend is actually doing something with her
time. Everyone else in the story is a loser who lives with their mother,
or they complain that other people are selling out while they themselves accomplish
nothing.
Look for it starting in August.
"Yeah--intellectual property laws-- who needs 'em?" 'Hugo' (i.e., Peter)
wrote. "Movies, tv shows, web sites, none of them are important, only touring
Europe. That's the only valid means of expression, right? Peter Bernard and
Tibbie X own the movie. If they're [sic] partnership is still intact,
then I side with them. If they've split up, I side with Peter Bernard. I
thought that was clear. They're both equally talented artists however and
I know TIbbie will go far. Let's all just take Tibbie off our friends list
until or unless she gets past this."
Peter has compared Tibbie’s talents to those of John Lennon. If he is
Tibbie’s equal, in his mind, then that is an syllogism I do not want to
calculate.
At this point Dictator88, a Nazi who reads Tibbie’s site and comments
on it occasionally, added his POV.
I hate the "homeless" too. Wow, I guess I have something in common with
that dirty jew after all. ;)
"There you go!" Peter replied. "That's what I've been trying to tell Tibbie
all along."
The hilarity of a Nazi using an emoticon was lost on Peter, as well as
the fact that his behavior had been so outrageous that it would drive a Nazi
to defend a Jew.
Seeing that I had only made matters worse (including
these
two
hilarious entries on Wheelchair's site), I added Peter back to her friends
list. "Thank you for adding me back to your friends list," he commented.
"You're one of the best friends I ever had and I'm totally miserable when
we fight, I don't wanna fight ever again."
The next thing I know I get an email from Nico. Peter had sent him an
email that said:
Subject: Michael Malice is SCUM
This guy Michael Malice is publishing photos from our movie on Tibbie's
journal while she's gone, putting his copyright on them, and putting a link
to his web site that has nothing to do with our movie or her band. Tibbie
sent me two letters last night and in one of them she wrote,
"i ddint give him permission to post any pictures or write anything on
my site except for your photos. "
So I sent Malice the links to what Tibbie calls "my" photos, which are
the approved movie photos that have Tibbie and my copyrights on them. Today,
Malice decided to persist in his disrespectful hijacking of Tibbie's journal.
Do you understand why I regard him as a creepy sneaky weasel?
I never, of course, got that email from Peter and Tibbie confirms to me
that that statement of hers is 'so totally totally totally out of context
that it's not even funny.' Nico told Peter
I have respectfully asked you both over the phone and in two separate
emails for you to not involve me in your business dealings with Tibbie.
Your email, included below, goes directly against my wishes as I have clearly
explained to you.
I expect to hear no further correspondence from you, including, but not
limited to, phone conversations, face to face conversations and email messages,
on any business agreements you have, or have in the future with Tibbie.
This includes, but is not limited to, Rools Like Ozzy, The X-Possibles,
Punk Rock Kung-Fu Zombie Cockfight and any production and promotional activities
of any of the above, whatever form they may take.
Peter responded (and Nico forwarded)
Dude, this was a mass-mailer. You childishly think the world revolves
around you. I'll remove you from all mailing lists. You and Malice think
you're so slick but you're not. I'm alot older than you and I'll be very
interested to see what things are like in one year. Bobby Steele and I were
just talking on the phone about this and we both find it very humorous since
we've lived through crap like this before. We know exactly how this is gonna
turn out.
Cheers,
Peter
Peter has several hundred people on his mailing list, so that above mailer
about me is very clearly libelous. However, since Peter is of no (financial)
value, there was no point in my pursuing any legal action. I have let matters
drop.
Tibbie has returned from a phenomenal European tour. She has returned
to find that her friends—including the Sex Slaves, Kitty Kowalski (a friendly
acquaintance of mine), Maya Price and lord knows who else—have been told
that she is a supporter of racism and associates with Nazis. Peter has also
called her a slut and an empty stripper. He has refuses to take responsibility
for these past events.
CASE CLASED
UPDATE: I sent a friend in the entertainment business this as an email,
and they responded:
Wow. A professional who sends project-related e-mails with comments like
"TIBBIE SUCKS" ?? Wow. I'll read it more thoroughly later, but I'm amazed.
UPDATE (2): "Oh geez. Who is this guy? He earns a living? amazing."
No, he is not employed and lives with his sister.
posted by Michael Malice at
2:46 PM
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