Who hasn’t seen the memes featuring Joanne the Scammer? Even if you don’t follow the character’s creator, Branden Miller, you’ve seen one of his snarky vids or well-captioned pics on the ‘Gram at some point or another.
And regardless of your feelings about a man in a wig, you’ve chuckled once or twice at the ridiculousness that is Joanne the Scammer. If Jhene Aiko┬áand Solange Knowles have managed to catch a couple of clips┬áand become fans, we can bet a few people in your circle are too.
The Fader traveled down to Daytona Beach, Florida to follow Miller┬áfor a couple of days. While there they got him┬áto open up about the origins of the uber-popular web character and what he was doing before running around in a blonde wig and proclaiming that, as Joanne, he was a “messy b*tch.”
Miller shared the details of his childhood — from growing up in a religious household to how he found out that he was adopted. He also spoke candidly about earning money via porn before Joanne the Scammer took off and he was able to make a living from it.
From The Fader:
On Discovering His Adoption Status
That was tragic, Im not going to lie. I found out I was adopted, and then I found out I was black. I was like, Oh shit, none of these people are really related to me at all! That was a fucking He stops for a second. I thought I was white. I had white friends. I was a white person! I still have my moments where Im like, Oh my God. Thats really awkward.
On Living Life As a Gay Man
Branden tells me heÔÇÖs comfortable in his own skin, but online and in person he does things that suggest he still struggles. ÔÇ£When you ask me if IÔÇÖm gay, I say yes,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£Do I flaunt it? No.ÔÇØ He says the attitudes towards homosexuality that surrounded his Southern childhood are ingrained deep, and keep him from being open about his love life. ÔÇ£I was raised a certain way,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£I never kiss my boyfriend in front of my mother. I never hold his hand. She knows we date, and she knows I love him, but I never do that in front of nobody, actually.ÔÇØ
On Joanna the Scammer
ÔÇ£It wasnÔÇÖt my strategy, but it just so happens I play a character that allows me to do whatever I want,ÔÇØ he tells me. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs the one time I can kind of be free.ÔÇØ
The story reads like a movie script, honestly.
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Photo: screen cap
The post Joanne The Scammer Talks Life As An Internet Sensation appeared first on Hip-Hop Wired.
Joanne The Scammer Talks Life As An Internet Sensation : Hip Hop Wired
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