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Leighton Labute | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leighton Allan Labute 11 September 2000 (age 25) |
| Other names | DollyFlesh MiseryMagic |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Occupation | Former internet personality |
| Years active | 2016 - 2020 |
| Known for | Animal murder and endangerment Online animations |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Criminal charges | cruelty to animals |
Leighton Allan Labute (September 11, 2000), better known online as DollyFlesh (formerly MiseryMagic), is a Canadian former YouTuber, animator, vlogger, and sculptor known for uploading clay animations often featuring sex, gore and other disturbing content.
On May 1, 2019, Labute uploaded a video in which he tortured and murdered three hamsters in a video titled "One Kid Three Hamsters". The video gained significant attention through websites like reddit [1] and eventually led to the termination of his main YouTube channel [2] and sparking outlash from big animal rights companies like PETA [3] . During his case, various protestors would gather outside the courthouse with signs and chanting [4] . He would be arrested on May 22, 2020, with 3 charges of animal cruelty [5] but was bailed out on May 25, 2020, for a $1,000 fine. [6] Labute would appear in court again in August 2021 where his punishment would be reduced from 3 charges to a singular charge classed as "cruelty to one or more hamsters", he would also face additional charges of "publishing obscene material online". [7]
The final terms of his sentence included not being allowed to own a pet or to set foot in a store that sells weapons or animals.
In June 2020, various cats were found mutilated across Kelowna, Canada. [8] Due to his recent actions, people online were quick to assume that Labute had some involvement in the case with people pointing towards a tweet he had made of a clay sculpture of himself holding a knife to a cat [9] with the caption "I like cats better". By July of the same year, it was confirmed that the cats had died of natural causes such as predation by coyotes, rather than by any human interference. [10]
After the trials, Labute was examined by doctors, who said he was "severely autistic" and "had a low IQ". [11] Doctors also said: “It is clear that he was bullied throughout the school years and I have no doubt have contributed to some of the issues he struggled with today,” and “His offending behaviour appears to have resulted primarily from a grossly misguided attempt to gain social attention if not infamy online”. [11]
Labute started posting to websites such as Instagram, YouTube and Twitter in 2016 where he would go by the name MiseryMagic, which can still be seen in reuploads of his old content. [12] When he started to gain more traction he would briefly change his username to DustyFlesh and then finally DollyFlesh. As DollyFlesh, Labute still wouldn't see much popularity with his most followed account being his Instagram at 6,000 followers before its deletion. From his social media it was clear that Labute idolised depraved acts and had a specif interest in John Wayne Gacy, with him posting a clay sculpture he made of Gacy on his Twitter [13] and making a character in his likeness named Itchy the Clown/Itchy the Maniac, [14] whom Labute would use in several of his animations. [15] After Labute's crimes he was banned from YouTube and Instagram; this is when he would start to gain popularity, however, with various videos discussing the creator and his actions; most notably, a YouTuber named Turkey Tom would upload a video about Labute gaining millions of views, thus bringing a lot of attention and traction to his name. [16]
Since his court case, Labute has had no known online presence with only his inactive Twitter account still being viewable. [17]
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