After reviewing the video and reactions, I've come to a conclusion about who's to blame for the representation ChewFox gave of the [[furry]] fandom on the Tyra Banks Show [[Thanks, ChewFox|yesterday]].

I'm sorry for painting ChewFox as entirely to blame.  Events unfolded in a matter of hours, even minutes, thanks to the airing of her appearance.

Most of the blame belongs to Tyra, for she is the one who initially painted furries as sex-crazed, fursuit-owning perverts.  She's the one who decided that the episode should be entirely about sex, and she's the one who had her guests dressed in identical pajamas and sitting on beds instead of chairs.

Tyra is also the one who basically failed to give ChewFox the opportunity to tell her she was entirely wrong in her conclusion, and by allowing that to persist, the fact that ChewFox likes to have sex in-suit thanks to "strategically placed holes" (commonly abbreviated SPH) was presented as an image representative of the entire furry fandom.  This image is what has the fandom up in arms and just about ready to lynch ChewFox.

This image is wrong, and the blame for the image being presented at all belongs to Tyra.

But this does not absolve ChewFox of blame.  What she did wrong was appear on a trash-talk TV show specifically as a furry.  She should have known that no one who appears on the Tyra Banks Show, or on any Springer-like show like hers, is ever portrayed fairly or accurately as representing any particular group of people.  She should have known that she would've been painted as a pervert, whether she actually is one or not, with no opportunity at all to defend herself or the image she appeared to represent.

ChewFox should've known that she would not have been able to represent the fandom at all on such a show; she should've known that the reason she was selected was because they were going to play her like a piano, to be sensationalized for Tyra's benefit and at ChewFox's expense.  The fact that they paid her to be a guest should've been a clue.

What I blame ChewFox for is choosing to go on the show anyway, claiming to be example furries (and kinks aside, maybe she is, we don't know), and believing that the result would be anything other than what it is.

Fur Affinity Forums has a thread in which the majority of the rage was contained: [[http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=51241|Tyra Banks Show]], and a thread of advice for any furries considering following in ChewFox's steps and trying to do what she couldn't: [[http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=51223|How many times furries have told other furries this]].