Chris Crocker has just auctioned off the iconic ‘Leave Britney Alone’, one of the first videos to really go viral, as an NFT.
Ahh, the early days of YouTube. Before the likes of BTS casually collected millions of viewers in mere minutes for videos of their hits, YouTube was a much different place. It was a wild wasteland where mainly cute animals, kids and real people rose to viral sensation.
One of those (dare we say the most infamous?) people was Chris Crocker who became known globally overnight in 2007 after posting their classic ‘Leave Britney Alone’ video. You all know the video by now: in it, a clearly distressed Crocker expressed their fear for Britney Spears’ future after her comeback performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
Within its first 24 hours, the video had accumulated over two million views. By 2009, it was the second-most discussed video of all time on YouTube, with over 350,000 comments. Worldwide attention followed, with everyone from CNN, Fox News, The View, and even South Park picking up on it.
Now talk about generations colliding – one of the greatest viral relics of the 00’s has now combined with the au courant thing in 2021 as ‘Leave Britney Alone’ has been sold off as an NFT.
As per The Business Insider, Crocker sold the original video to an anonymous bidder for 18.6934 Ethereum, or $51,000 AUD.
And before anyone gets irate about NFT’s and their effect on culture, much like the recent case of the iconic Fyre Festival food tweet, the raised funds from the sale of ‘Leave Britney Alone’ are going to a good cause.
After coming out as transgender back in February, Crocker now plans to use the funds to help with their mother’s health care and also possibly begin transitioning.
What viral tweet or video will be next to get the NFT treatment? Maybe the ‘Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That’ lady has some time to gain some cash? Maybe Charlie finally managed to bite his brother’s finger off and his brother needs funds for reconstructive surgery? Only time will tell.
Revisit the iconic ‘Leave Britney Alone’ video:
