Erotica Author Chuck Tingle on His Epic Governor Greg Abbott Troll

Gay erotica author and viral sensation Chuck Tingle has amassed legions of fans with his tongue-in-cheek titles, unforgettable book covers, and messages of love and social progress. He's not only the proud author of books like Space Raptor Butt Invasion, Gay T-Rex Law Firm Executive Boner, and Pounded in the Butt by My Own Butt -- he's also a master of using his particular brand of humor and personal ethos to expertly skewer bullies and monstrous politicians, alike.

First, it was his takedown of the alt-right "rabid puppies" who attempted to use him as a tool to delegitimize the Hugo Awards (which led to his first of two Hugo nominations, and such literary triumphs as Pounded in the Butt by My Hugo Award Loss and Pounded in the Butt by My Second Hugo Award Nomination), and most recently it's Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (or "Gorg Abbott," as Tingle refers to him), who the author has set his satirical sites on.

Abbott drew Tingle's ire with his recent call for the state's Department of Family and Protective Services to begin investigating the parents of trans children who allow their kids to access gender-affirming medical care. It's a directive that flies in the face of recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry due to the fact that blocking access to such care "has been shown to increase youths' risk for suicidal ideation and other negative mental health outcomes," according to the latter organization.

Naturally, this drew massive backlash from LGBTQ+ rights and human rights groups -- and Tingle himself.

"When I heard about the situation in Texas with Gorg Abbott it was a moment of shock and horror that I am sure we all felt," Tingle tells The Advocate. "I have seen devils do terrible things, being terrible is their bread and butter, but this is dang above and beyond. It is cruel in a way that feels designed to be cruel, with no other purpose but to hurt. Usually, devils try to disguise their way with 'both sides' talk, but this is just a blatant way for Gorg Abbott to say 'I would like to cause as much pain and hurt as possible.'"

Tingle felt compelled to do something, and he managed to find the most Tingle way possible. A little searching led him to discover that, due to some oversight, the domain GovernorAbbott.com was available for purchase, so he bought it and put it to use.

"I like to express my trot through art, and usually these are ways of protest or social commentary, so I am always looking for a way to get a message across. Sometimes that means putting feelings into a book, sometimes that means making charity donations and sometimes that means snatching up a website, which I have done before to other scoundrels," shares Tingle. "I will say I was pretty dang surprised this website was available."

The image atop the site's home page is a photo of Abbott with his eyes and mouth oozing black liquid, in front of the backdrop of a burning city. As is Tingle's style, it gets right to the point about what the author thinks of Abbott's character:

Do you like saying you're for small government then building a hate based platform around exerting power over other people whose lives are none of your business? I do too!

Do you claim to care about your community but waste funds on border wall projects that statistically don't work and are ethically abhorrent? I do too!

Have you stared into the cosmic abyss and heard the moans of a thousand collapsing stars, shaking and drooling as time stretches into an endless gaping maw? Shal T'Chull Suggahall!

This is followed by a FAQ that directs readers who aren't "frothing at the mouth with belligerent hatred and ignorant bigotry" to help trans people in Texas, with links to the Transgender Law Center, Trans Lifeline, and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

Tingle explained that when it came to writing text for the website, his guiding principle was to keep it simple. "The point of all this is not to tell Gorg Abbott to heck off -- although that is nice too -- it is to function in a practical way and raise money for trans charities," he says. "I write a lot, so I could have filled the site with all kinds of critiques or parody, but really Chuck wanted to write just enough to grab attention and then jump right into 'here's what you can do to help.'"

So far, Tingle hasn't heard anything from the Abbott camp about his site. "They are too frightened by the mighty power of love," he speculates.

Though if they do reach out, Tingle has a surprise in store for them. "If they wanted to say 'Hi, want to talk?' I would say 'Sure, meet me by the old oak tree,' then when they met there I would spring a trap that throws a big pie in their face and tell them to get hecked."

But ultimately, Tingle's only real concerns in this case are the vulnerable people and families being targeted by Abbott.

"What is happening is so terrible and devastating," says Tingle. As is his way, however, he does offer a message of hope.

"It is OK to be angry and it is OK to be scared and it is OK to feel hopeless sometimes. This is a natural part of making our way through this timeline," he shares. "But in this battle, we have a key advantage. We have love at our backs, and that is the most powerful force across any timeline because love is real, and devils like Gorg Abbott are just hollow sacks of fear and loneliness and hate."

While the author of Bigfoot Pirates Haunt My Balls might seem like an unlikely hero, it's acts and sentiments like this make it clear he truly is one.