Slap had been saying IC was garbage from the jump. No one cared. Thrasher was backing them. So were they cool because we all seem to love Thrasher? Not until GH started bashing them did everyone start realizing how awful they are and now we see the company effectively folding.
GH has also been bashing IC/Mikey Alfred for a long time too, this new universal hate for IC has more to do with Mikey Alfred going full Kanye West lately than everyone mindlessly hanging on GH's words. And he's not the only person talking about it. The riders themselves are speaking out now.
Look, I like GH, I watch his videos, but this claim that he's the "king of skate media" is ridiculous. And why does it have to be a competition? Why can't Thrasher and GH both exist? They aren't even comparable. Thrasher is still a very successful magazine read regularly by plenty actual core skaters.
I know hanging out here too much can make it seem like basically every company in skateboarding is trash and failing, but try to keep in perspective that the Slap message boards consists of like 20 jaded dudes who absolutely do not represent skateboarding as a culture at large.
Also, everyone is sleeping on Closer magazine. It's brilliant and deserves more shine.