Cara Cunningham
Cara Cunningham | |
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LGBTQ+ and youth issues |
Cara Cunningham (formerly Chris Crocker; born December 7, 1987) is an American
Cunningham gained fame in September 2007 from her
Cunningham produces and acts in her own videos, and is a self-described
In most of Cunningham's adolescent works, she presents herself as an
Early life
Cunningham was born in
Internet career
Cunningham is best known for her Britney Spears video, uploaded to YouTube on September 10, 2007. The first part of the infamous work was posted September 9, 2007, called "Leave Britney Alone pt.1" to her MySpace page, while the better-known "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!" (part 2) was posted to both Myspace and YouTube. In "Leave Britney Alone pt.1", an emotional Cunningham stated that she did not want fellow Southerner[4] Britney Spears[22] to spiral out of control like Anna Nicole Smith, who had died in February 2007. As of November 2010[update], the video had been viewed over 35 million times and had accumulated a total of over 500,000 comments. It is just a few seconds shorter than the second part, and Cunningham, although emotional, remains relatively calm and composed, becoming teary only at the very end.[23]
In the videos, Cunningham condemns gossip columnists such as
Prior to the attention from her September 2007 Leave Britney Alone! video, Cunningham was seen as a viral video sensation and was asked by MTV vlogger and news staffer Matt Sunbulli to provide video for MTV's website which also broadcasts on MTV itself.
Although sometimes shown in conjunction with news footage of Spears' performance, the "pure performance art" video became its own story, with the news media and the gossip industry offering opinions on the phenomenon, joking that Cunningham could be "an insidious satiric mastermind" and comparing her to Andy Kaufman.[36][37] In the video, Cunningham proclaims, "All you people care about is readers and making money off of her. She's a human! Leave Britney alone!"[7][38][39] Cunningham stated that although she is often acting in her videos, her emotions were genuine and "straight from the heart"; although she described the clip as a "second take" in one interview, she clarified on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that she meant that it was the second part of a longer video, the first part being "Leave Britney Alone pt. 1".[17][11][40]
The "Leave Britney Alone!" video became a
While numerous news and media outlets reported on the viral video,
In February 2021, Cunningham created an
Other ventures
Cunningham has been involved in various projects. In a June 2007 autobiographical
Cunningham released her first single, "Mind in the Gutter", in 2008. She released her first EP titled The First Bite digitally on iTunes March 19, 2011. "I Want Your Bite" was then released as the second single.[63] Later that year, Cunningham released the songs "Second to None", "Tug of War", and "Taking My Life Back". In 2012, Cunningham released the songs "Locked Up Lovers" and "Lucky Tonight".[64] Cunningham's second EP, Walls Down, was released on March 14, 2013, under her new stage name Chris Cunningham-Crocker. The EP is a departure of her previous dance style, mainly consisting of ballads and features a duet with her mother. The first single from the EP, "Breaking Up", was released on January 24, 2013.[65] Cunningham announced in August 2011 that a film documenting her life over the past few years would be released, titled Me at the Zoo. The film also explores how video sharing and social media have shaped the way people share her stories and go about her lives.[66] On January 17, 2012, HBO Documentary Films secured the US broadcasting rights to the film.[66] It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2012[67] and on HBO on June 25, 2012.[68]
In July 2011, it was announced that Cunningham had been signed by Chi Chi LaRue to appear in a pornographic film.[69] She made her adult film debut in October 2012 for Maverick Men.[70] In 2014, Lucas Entertainment digitally released Chris Crocker's Raw Love, which features Cunningham in a scene with her then-boyfriend Justin Dean.[71][72][73] Cunningham stated that acting in porn was going to be more than a single event; "it was going to be the porn and then a website, with the same companies." She said she was focused on setting up a future with her then-boyfriend and getting a house and a mortgage. "I said, 'Well if I'm going to do it, then let's make it worth it.' So, then we broke up a week before the porn came out. So then, yeah, it kind of ended." She added, "You have to contractually, and things, promote a porn. So I regret doing it with my ex more than I regret doing it in general." She said she could do porn again, but wondered how she would extend that into a viable career. "[W]here is the reality show? And where are the people that have seen how interesting my life is? Not that many people were, like, the first of their kind to be an Internet celebrity—what happens after that?" she said. "What happens after you extend your 15 minutes of fame to 30 minutes of fame, and it's six, seven years later, and you're still living at home in Tennessee? I think that's an interesting story, a little more than Honey Boo Boo."[72]
Personal life
Appearance, transition and gender identity
Following her mainstream success, Cunningham gradually began to change her image from feminine to masculine, eventually adopting a predominantly masculine appearance by 2012.[73] Cunningham said that although she understands she is more socially or traditionally attractive, she dislikes people saying it and "the most irritating thing" is when men that she finds attractive say that they find her more attractive this way. She felt that people should accept all of her instead of only the masculine side, and that dating is difficult because "[the guys] can't always accept that [she] used to dress up or that that's a part of [her] still and that [she still dresses up]."[73] She identifies with the acceptance that she received from her grandmother, who always wanted her to present as masculine, but she also finds it upsetting because she did not accept the way Cunningham was before.[72]
Cunningham previously said that her gender was not male and female, but a combination of both, although it is more so a different gender at times, and that it was not a conscious effort for her to become more masculine.[72][73] "I started gradually. I was wearing less makeup and pushing my hair back and putting it in a pony tail instead of curling it or wearing it long." She stated that she "never realize[s] the changes that are taking place. They literally just happen" and that "[her] hair extensions got shorter and shorter and [she] went from 26-inch extensions to shoulder-length extensions." She said that the process was the same with regard to "dressing like a girl," adding, "It's little by little."[73] With regard to the gender she was more comfortable as, Cunningham stated, "I definitely feel the most connected with myself I've ever felt. Maybe that's because before I began to explore my more masculine traits, I thought I was going to go through with a boob job." Cunningham said she had now "explored both sides" and felt she knew herself well.[72]
Cunningham has expressed discontent with the
In a
In August 2021, Cunningham came out as transgender and changed her first name to Cara. She also said she would be beginning feminizing hormone therapy.[75]
Onch promotional deal and lawsuit
In October 2007, TMZ reported that Cunningham was being sued by Onch Movement Jewelry for $1 million for fraud and breach of contract, and provided a copy of the civil complaint filed in Los Angeles.[76] Jewelry designer Nelson Chung, professionally known as Onch and a fan of Cunningham, hired her as a celebrity spokesmodel for more than two days' worth of publicity work as well as appearance at World of Wonder's Just Britney art show in exchange for airfare.[77] It was speculated by DMW Media that Cunningham had no legal representative as the agreement seemed unbalanced.[78] Cunningham did make appearances including at gay club Rage and the art show where she was interviewed by MTV showing artwork of her in homage to Spears.[79][80] Onch's YouTube channel also posted videos of appearances which were later removed.[81]
Image and style
Cunningham's uncensored
Cunningham's earliest experience with online networking was as an editor of an e-zine, where she met her first boyfriend, with whom she was only able to interact online and by phone. Cunningham later found another online forum, where her acting skills helped her blend in on a free phone party line run out of Los Angeles "filled with flaming black men, black drag queens, and [transgender people]. In June 2006, Cunningham began uploading self-produced videos, characterized as her "singularly bizarre and angry take on gay life and [her] intolerant town".[14]
Although her video defending Britney Spears drew the attention of the wider public, Cunningham had already become one of the most-watched video producers on MySpace and YouTube, having gathered what MSNBC described as a "cult following".[9][11][35] Prior to Cunningham's defense of Spears, some of the more than sixty videos she had posted to the two social networking websites had already been viewed more than a million times each, and her YouTube channel was in the top rankings.[11] Some of the videos were only posted on one site or the other, many becoming "viral video hits".[14]
In May 2007, Cunningham was the subject of a lengthy profile in the Seattle
Cunningham believes that the Leave Britney Alone! video and performing in porn have hurt her chances of pursuing an acting career. "A lot of people think the Britney video is what got me famous and what gave me all these opportunities, but if I were to have gone to L.A. as an unknown actor—I probably could have gotten a lot more work." She said, "I don't regret it necessarily; I think it just gives me more hurdles to overcome... Which, you know... and obviously doing the porn thing didn't necessarily help me."[72] Cunningham described the porn aspect as having tarnished things, but said that it is up to her "to make those little calculated moves".[72] "It kind of created a whole other box that I have to overcome," she stated. "But when you're known as the Britney-boy, or you're in a '15 minutes of fame' box, it's very interesting, because the offers start coming at you really quick. And when they dwindle, you don't know what to do."[72]
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External links
- Cara Cunningham at IMDb