It’s been 10 years since then-Myspace celebrity Chris Crocker posted a tear-filled plea for the world to “Leave Britney Alone,” a legendary moment in the history of the internet that people still talked about today.
Crocker addressed the moment on his Twitter Sunday afternoon, tweeting out the iconic video.
The internet celebrity also shared additional personal context for the video on his Instagram, sharing with his followers that while he is known for being a comedian, the “Leave Britney Alone” video came from a place of sincerity.
He notes in the caption that “the struggles in my home life and family life made me defensive over any woman going through a hard time.”
Crocker also opens up about the response to the video, noting that LGBT YouTube and cultural attitudes surrounding LGBT people in general were at a very different place than they are in 2017.
“Talk show hosts questioned if I was a man or woman, after playing the clip. I knew there was no way people would take me seriously. So I decided that I would play up to the joke everyone thought I was. Realizing that telling them about what had actually triggered my emotional reaction (What my mom was battling) wouldn’t be of interest to anyone. So I gave them a cartoon of what they assumed I was, in my public appearances afterward. ”
Crocker’s “Leave Britney Alone” video was not only a seminal moment in the history of the internet, but for LGBTQ people in general. As a visible queer person, Crocker bore the blows of mainstream culture questioning and mocking his identity in a public way, all the while paving a path for other LGBTQ people to carve out their own spaces in the virtual world in the years to come.
Thank you, Chris!