Zoe Roth, the girl who became an internet meme thanks to a photo of her in front of a burning building, has just sold her meme as an NFT, and has made a hefty couple of dollarydoos for it too.
Roth, now aged 21, was only 4 years old when her photo became a viral meme sensation. The meme was aptly titled ‘Disaster Girl’, and features Roth giving a sly smirk in front of her North Carolina home as it’s burning down in flames. It sounds wild, but hey, it’s an iconic pic, and 2005 was a very different time.
The pic was taken by Roth’s dad, won a couple of awards, and began to spread like wildfire (no pun intended,) and the rest is history. If you’ve been on the internet for any time at all, chances are you’ve come across this meme (in fact, it’s probably one of the memes that have aged best, compared to others).
Fast forward to today, and the meme has sold for a whopping US$450,000, which equates to around AU$580,570. It’s a lot of fkn money, especially for a picture you can download in multiple formats with a quick google search.
According to The News & Observer, Roth was emailed by an unknown contact telling her to sell her NFT. The contact ended up being legit, and so Roth did what any meme celebrity would do, and reportedly called up Laina Morris (Overly Attached Girlfriend) and Kyle Craven (Bad Luck Brian) for advice.
She even apparently made plans to get drinks with them over Zoom, but that isn’t even the craziest part.
To sell something as an NFT on the internet, you must first gain access to the host website for transactions, which is called Foundation. This is invite-only though, but luckily for Disaster Girl, the creator of the Nyan Cat gif, who has also recently sold his meme as an NFT, sent her over an invite.
It really does sound like a super league of meme celebrities, and I’m here for it.
Zoe Roth also said she will be splitting her new earnings with her family, as she jumps from meme star to half a millionaire overnight.
I am truly in awe at how amazing this woman’s life has been because of a meme. Now when’s my turn.
