Sam Bankman-Fried Courtroom Sketch Becomes Metaphor For Crypto Industry
The new Sam Bankman-Fried 'counter-sketch' speaks to the substance of the case.
That is Sam Bankman-Fried.
Allegedly.
The latest sketch from inside the courtroom at his trial appears to have accidentally captured the goofy boy billionaire’s alter ego Tyler Durden. You know what they say: the first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about using client funds to bail out Alameda Capital.
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Given the official sketches coming out of his criminal trial, it wouldn’t be crazy for Bankman-Fried to try to get some better images circulating. But there’s a fine line between sprucing up the public image and recasting yourself as an anime hero.
Winning the courtroom sketch battle is all the rage these days. Donald Trump recently shared this image:
That guy’s last trial was a civil disturbance charge that ended up with the death penalty so I’m not sure Trump should be too enthusiastic about this development. That the portrait is apparently the product of one Peter Gerard Scully, a rapist, sex trafficker, and child sex abuser sentenced to life in prison plus 129 years might be another reason to shy away from it.
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As for Bankman-Fried, the new artwork definitely departs from the official iconography:
The above sketch of former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison perfectly tracks courtroom artist Jane Rosenberg’s aesthetic of grim expressionism. Remember when Rosenberg caught Tom Brady deflating or Trump contemplating a raid on Whoville? Whenever Rosenberg tackles a courtroom scene the result is never a straightforward portrait, but a parade of bleak caricatures that capture the mood more than the look of the players.
So Bankman-Fried must have gotten a little tired of looking like this in all the trial coverage:
And overcorrected with his new sketch as a Phoenix Wright NPC.
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Normally Rosenberg’s work captures the spirit of the proceedings, but this time it may be the artistic conversation she prompted that gets to the heart of it. Cultivating an image divorced from reality? Throwing money at a problem to disguise glaring faults? Does it get any more heavy-handed than this?
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
