(The Hol’ It Down Tee in Tan)
“I’m legally blind!” “P.O.P. hol’ it down!”
You remember the catchphrases. You remember the interview. You remember Donna Goudeau, loaded into the back of a police car and on her way to prison to start an 18-year sentence, dropping hilarious nugget after hilarious nugget in a news clip that went viral. You got your laughs out of it. You dismissed her and moved on.
The Internet is funny like that. Videos reach incredible levels of popularity and become ingrained in the pop culture landscape, only to be forgotten mere weeks (or sometimes even days) later.
Our good friend, the young designer Chris Bailey is aiming to change all that with his latest T-shirt capsule, featuring Donna-inspired graphics, earth tones (military green, tan, black, and pink), and Donna’s official signature.
The problem with the meteoric rise and fall of viral videos is that their subjects (who are often black) go forgotten rather quickly. They’re exploited for free laughs and then tossed to the side like garbage in search of the next viral star. However, the situations that surround these videos are often no laughing matter. Donna was actually in prison before she knew she was famous on the internet, and as a result of that has nothing to show for her internet fame.
That’s about to change. Donna has given her blessing to this T-shirt capsule (no, she’s not dead. That was a rumor), and has expressed a desire to give back to underprivileged children (especially those that are hard of sight) so that they don’t go down the wrong path. When the T-shirts release, 20% of all proceeds will go to the All Blind Children Of Texas organization, and to top it off, the donation will be made in Donna’s name.
This isn’t about Donna’s innocence or guilt. You’ve likely gotten a lot of free laughs out of her and other viral video stars, and now’s a chance to give a little back…and maybe even get yourself a dope shirt too. Check out some more designs (as well as a letter from Donna herself below), and head on over to the Kickstarter page if you’d like to show your support.
(In Pimp Squad We Trust Graphic)
(A snippet of an original letter from Donna)
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