Nat Tate
Scottish author William Boyd released a novel in 1998 called Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928-1960. It was written in the style of a biography, but it turned out in the end that Tate was completely made up by Boyd. It was said that Tate was ” an abstract expressionist who destroyed 99% of his work and leapt to his death from the Staten Island Ferry.” The hoax was meant to poke fun at the fact that critics are so unwilling to admit that they’ve never heard of an artist.
Aunt Jemima
The Aunt Jemima character featured on the brand’s products was based on the enslaved “Mammy” stereotype. Aunt Jemima first appeared in minstrel and vaudeville shows. In 2020, following years of controversy surrounding the logo, the company removed the logo and also renamed the brand to Pearl Milling Company.