Internet Meme Antoine Dodson, Extends His 15 Minutes of Internet Fame

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, you’ve probably spotted “The Bed Intruder” meme that has taken over YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and countless blogs. If not, I’ll bring you up to speed. Last week, video footage from North Alabama’s local news broadcast was uploaded to YouTube and became an overnight sensation. The clip centered around the attempted rape of a young woman and featured an interview with her brother, Antoine Dodson.  Antoine stole the broadcast with his sassy disposition and threats towards the perpetrator which included, “You don’t have to come and confess. We lookin’ fo’ you. We gon’ fine’ you” and “you can run and tell dat homeboy.” The original broadcast has gotten over a million views since being uploaded last week and has spawned numerous parodies and songs, most notability the “Bed Intruder Song” by the Gregory Brothers of the popular Auto-Tune the News series.

Since being uploaded on July 30th, the Bed Intruder Song has received over 6 million views and is one of the most favorite-ed, top-rated and most discussed videos of the month. I’ll be the first to admit that I shed tears of laughter while watching the song. There’s no denying Antoine’s charisma and his attitude, which is unintentionally funny and engaging. Not to mention, the Gregory Brothers song is really catchy! But it’s hard not to feel guilty laughing at a horrible topic such as an attempted rape or the fact that so many people are laughing at Antoine because of his obvious effeminate traits and soundbite-worthy slang.

For better or worse, it now seems that Antoine is trying to cash in on his newfound internet fame and has launched his own YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/antoinedodson24) and website ( http://www.antoine-dodson.com) complete with Antoine t-shirts, buttons and key chains. Videos on his channel feature him answering questions from his “fans” and posing for photos and autographs at a local Alabama meet-and-greet session. Apparently not many people are bothered by this as Antoine’s YouTube channel has over 15,000 subscribers and is currently the most subscribed channel this week and the 24th top subscribed channel this month. In all honesty, I expected the Dodson family to be disturbed by the internet adoration, as it deflects attention from his sister’s attempted rape. But instead, Antoine has accepted the fame with open arms and seems to be stretching his 15 minutes for as long as he can. I sincerely wish Antoine and his family the best, and hope the intruder is caught. As for Antoine’s newfound quest for fame, I’m curious to see where it will go and just how long it will last.