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Fuck Uri Greller
>Israeli magician Uri Geller, known for his attribution of his spoon-bending tricks to alleged psychic abilities, sued Nintendo, alleging that Kadabra (known as Yungerer in Japan) was an unauthorized use of his name and likeness. Besides Kadabra's use of bent spoons to enhance its psychic powers, the katakana for its name (ユンゲラー) is visually similar to the transliteration of his own name into Japanese (ユリゲラー). In particular, he took issue with Kadabra cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, especially the existence of the card Dark Kadabra (named "Evil Yungerer" in Japanese).
>Geller, who is Jewish, additionally argued that Kadabra's design is antisemitic due to the five-pointed star on its forehead and the lightning bolts resembling the logo of the Waffen-SS. He is quoted as saying "Nintendo turned me into an evil, occult Pokémon character. Nintendo stole my identity by using my name and my signature image."
>The symbols themselves are taken from those used on Zener cards, which have been used to conduct research into supposed psychic abilities since the 1930s, and Geller has personally used in some of his magic tricks.
>Geller told news outlets that he first became aware of Kadabra and its similarities to him while he was Christmas shopping at a Pokémon Center store in Japan. According to Geller, the store manager "rushed out from his office continuously bowing," followed by "hundreds of children [thrusting] Pokemon cards at him to autograph while chanting what sounded like Uri Geller."
