also i know its semantics but the frog in the OP is a peepo, not Pepe. im pretty sure peepo massively increased in popularity from the Frenworld/Honkler nazi subreddits
i feel bad for the artist. that was his art. his little guy, his creation. it was taken from him. i cant imagine losing a piece of your art to some of the worst types of people humanity has to offer.