http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iSRr3ZuLL8
Rebecca Black – Friday (Not Quite Official?) [Source: dev00p]*
Benni Cinkle didn’t plan on getting famous for her appearance in Rebecca Black’s infamous Friday video (around 1:10) but a legion of web detractors chose her as one of their targets though, as she put it, she was simply “that girl in pink who sits behind Rebecca in the car for four seconds and was a terrible dancer.”
Actually, she appears for more than four seconds but, more importantly, she has leveraged that appearance to create her own media presence on the web.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZh-Y6Opgbs
Benni Cinkle – Flash Dance for Japan Fundraiser [Source: Benni Cinkle]
To Ms. Cinkle’s surprise, a week after Black’s video appeared on the web, an unofficial Benni Cinkle anti-fan page appeared on Facebook. In an equally surprising move, despite Alex Hawgood of the NY Times’ claim that it’s the current norm, Ms. Cinkle created a series of social media accounts and began to turn the hate into love.
Soon Ms. Cinkle had real fans and she’s built on her web fame by continuing to reference her unique dancing skills to raise money for good causes.
Though Rebecca Black’s video has taken her much further in terms of media attention, Benni Cinkle has done an admirable thing in the face of the hateful behavior so often observed on the web. For whatever reason, the two are no longer friends. But, though I have to say I too have difficulty tolerating Rebecca Black, I would count myself as a supporter of Benni Cinkle, though not a true fan.
*Note: I think the Friday video above takes the original and adds the rapper near the end. But I could be wrong. I never watched it that far before!
Official Sites: That Girl In Pink ~ Facebook – Girl Dancing Awkwardly