The Awkward Joke at Antoine Dodson's Expense

Like most people I saw the Antoine Dodson video a few months back. The one where he basically goes off about the home invader who tried to rape his kinswoman while she slept and was chased off. I too laughed at his interview, but more in a "This is really uncomfortable to watch" kind of way, as opposed to being truly amused. I mean, there's nothing really amusing about this woman almost being raped. There's nothing really funny about his painful interview either. It's nervous laugh inducing to me.

And here we are several months later, and Antoine Dodson is still hanging around these pop culture internet streets. He's even sponsoring a sex offender app and reaped the profits from The Bed Intruder Song (click here to listen) that garnered millions of views. He even got a milkshake at Millions of Milkshakes, and made it to the BET awards.

I get him hustling for money to get out of the projects. I appreciate that, but I can't help but feel there's something a little dirty about this; something wrong. You know the awkwardness of having a one-night stand, and them hanging around? You were hoping they would kind of take their leave, but they're still hanging around... This is what I get from Antoine Dodson and his dalliance with pop culture. They love him now--for reasons I'll get into later--but eventually he will be dropped like a bag of hot rocks and I find that unfortunate, considering what made him popular in the first place.


I'm going to keep it real here. American society loves black folks who act a damned fool or present themselves as a caricature. While black people consume it and enjoy it, white folks--and I mean the kind that hold on to stereotypes as beloved representations of a culture they don't really understand or know--suck it right up, and it seems he's been most popular with them. I mean, it's like the lovable Mammy or Uncle Remus of old.

I'm not calling racism here. However, we all know that had Antoine given an interview where he was extremely articulate, and less likely to drop one liners and punchlines, we would not even be talking about him. Hell, most of us may not have ever known he existed. But like something out of an In Living Color skit, the more stereotypical the minority acts in the interview, the more potential for popularity it has. And Antoine is conveying full on stereotype right here with his sassy Sapphire-like mannerisms and way of speaking.



Ultimately, I wish Antoine much success, and I hope this opportunity works out well for him and his family. At the end of the day, however, this was about an attempted rape of a black woman, a fact that apparently was lost because people are more concerned with the latest stereotype and pop culture meme as opposed to being concerned with the well-being of a woman--a black woman at that--who was almost violated.

I'm half expecting for the actual intruder to come out publicly so that he can get his cut... Stranger things have happened.