When Chris Crocker uploaded one of the first videos to go viral on YouTube, they reaped more internet fame — and infamy — than monetary benefit. Back in 2007, then 19-year-old Crocker shared an impassioned plea for the media and other general naysayers to “leave Britney alone.” A stan before the term became popular, Crocker was referring, of course, to Britney Spears, who was a frequent and much beleaguered target of the tabloid press at the time.
Now, the 33-year-old social media personality is finally seeing some profit from their iconic piece of pop culture history. Crocker made more than $41,000 for the nonfungible token, or NFT, of the “Leave Britney Alone” video at auction this week, according to Insider.
“I felt like a lot of people might misconstrue why I wanted to sell it,” Crocker told Insider of the NFP, which refers to a digital asset with a unique signature that’s purchased with cryptocurrency. “But the real reason is because I felt like I took a lot of hits — you know, literal hits,” Crocker said, referring to their experience being “physically assaulted at gay clubs” and even receiving death threats after the video went viral.
Crocker recently opened up about their experience with instant internet renown, saying they felt backlash to the video had been transphobic. “The reason no one took me [seriously] was because I was a gender-bending teenager and the reaction to me was transphobic,” Crocker wrote on Twitter in February. Crocker had been inspired to speak out during the flurry of attention that accompanied The New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears, released earlier this year and streaming on Hulu.
Crocker told Insider that they plan to use profits from the NFT sale to help their grandmother, and that any additional funds would be earmarked for their transition. “I would absolutely put that towards, like, me being able to become myself” and live openly as a woman, Crocker told Insider. Crocker elaborated on their hesitance to transition slowly in an environment that they don’t feel is safe or accepting (Crocker still lives in rural Tennessee.)
“I’ve always been scared to do the baby steps very slowly, because I was like, well, if I can’t afford the full [transition], my safety is really gonna be a concern,” they told Insider. “People are very backward, and I already stick out for being feminine. So I’ve always thought if I am going to do it and still be here and live around my family, I have to go, like, all the way.”
It seems the NFT sale may offer Crocker an opportunity to free themselves from some of what viral frame has wrought. “I didn’t really get anything from [the video] other than to be put in a box for the next 14 years,” Crocker said. Perhaps the next step for Crocker is stepping beyond its confines.
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