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Captain Marvel star Brie Larson has again found herself in hot waters on social media following her endorsement of NFTs. On February 4, Larson received much flak over changing her profile picture to a piece of art by Varvara Alay. As per the post, she received the picture from Alay’s NFT business, Flower Girls NFT.
The actress bought the NFT from the OpenSea platform on February 3 at 8:34 pm for 0.725 Ethereum or over $2100 on the day of purchase. Brie Larson, who operates the account under the name “Briethereum,” has already transferred the NFT to an unnamed account.
Since Brie Larson joined the OpenSea platform in early January, she has garnered over seven NFTs, which she now owns. One of her most expensive purchases is from the 1989Sisters collections, which she bought for 1.2 Ethereum or $3570.
"NFT's are bad for the environment" - Brie Larson faces massive backlash over her NFT profile picture
Earlier in January, Matt Damon’s controversial Crypto.com ad spawned several memes on celebrity endorsements of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Now Larson has become the latest celebrity to get heat from netizens over promoting NFTs.
Multiple people expressed their disappointment over the MCU star’s involvement with the NFT trade. Numerous followers pointed out the negative environmental impact of minting and trading NFTs. Her profile picture and support for the digital token also spawned several memes that tried to find humor in the situation.
Apart from Brie Larson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Eva Longoria, and Reese Witherspoon also changed their respective Twitter profile pictures with NFT arts by artist Varvara Alay. Amongst the celebrities, Witherspoon responded to the backlash by enquiring about the most sustainable cryptocurrencies. In her tweet, The Morning Show actress stated that she is “Trying to learn more.”
Why are celebrities supporting Varvara Alay’s NFTs?
Alay is a Moscow-based artist who specializes in graphic designs and illustrations. She is followed by multiple celebrities on social media, including Reese Witherspoon, Brie Larson, and John Cena, amongst others.
The artist is renowned as her works have been featured in magazines like Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, Marie Claire, GQ, and more, which may explain the support she gets from celebrities.
Furthermore, as part of her Flower Girls’ collection, 20 percent of the primary and secondary profits from the NFT sales would be donated to several children’s charities. Around 5 percent of the profits would be used to collect NFT arts created by children.
This charitable cause behind the project, combined with Alay’s popularity as an artist, might be why celebrities are supporting her work. However, the carbon footprint of her blockchain is not known. OpenSea platform, on the other hand, has emitted about 67.8 million kilograms of carbon since its launch, as per The Hill.
