‘Chewbacca Mom’ Has Received $420K in Free Stuff Since Her Video Hit — but Some Liberals Are Raising a Major Complaint

Texas mom Candace Payne became an internet sensation last month after she posted a hilarious Facebook live-stream video of herself trying on a Chewbacca mask in a Kohl’s parking lot.

Since Payne’s May 19 post, the video has received 155 million views and more than 3 million shares, making it the most-watched Facebook live-stream ever. And it’s paying off big time.

Payne, better known as “Chewbacca Mom,” has received gifts valued at $420,000, according to KCBS-TV. The nearly half-million dollar sum includes money for travel to appear on talk shows, a vacation at Walt Disney World and Kohl’s merchandise.

But the most extravagant gift awarded to Payne so far comes from Southeastern University in Florida. The private Christian liberal arts college presented Payne and her whole family with full tuition scholarships.

Clearly not everyone is celebrating Chewbacca Mom’s viral success. One of the harshest critiques Payne received came from Daily Dot contributor, Gillian Branstetter.

Branstetter’s piece, “What Chewbacca Mom’s Rise to Fame Tells Us About Race in This Country,” which was cross-posted on MSN, is an argument for why Payne’s sudden rise to internet fame can only be explained by one thing: white privilege.

From the article:

It’s true, free tuition is an oversized prize for such easily begotten fame. It’s also true that the real rewards typically reaped for online success tend to heavily favor insta-celebrities who are white. Content derived from black users of Twitter, Vine, or Snapchat is often sidelined as part of a monolithic Black Twitter.

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