It’s only the spring, and we’ve already hit peak 2021. Zoë Roth, the star of the “Disaster Girl” meme, now a 21-year-old college senior, just sold her viral photo as a non-fungible token to pay off student loans and donate to charity. No, this country does not deserve Gen Z. The infamous meme shows Roth devilishly smirking in front of a house on fire in her neighborhood in North Carolina back in 2007. According to the New York Times, it was a controlled blaze set by firefighters — they even let kids take turns holding the hose. The image of Roth has since taken on a life of its own, becoming a viral reaction meme and edited into disasters like the Titanic. Roth sold the original copy of her meme as a non fungible token for nearly $500,000 in Ether, a form of cryptocurrency, at an auction on Thursday. The Roths retained the copyright and will receive 10 percent of future sales. Roth said she consulted two other memes, “Bad Luck Brian” real name Kyle Craven and Laney Griner, the mother of “Success Kid,” before deciding to sell the NFT. “It’s the only thing that memes can do to take control,” Roth recalled Craven saying to her, per the Times. “People who are in memes and go viral is one thing, but just the way the internet has held on to my picture and kept it viral, kept it relevant, is so crazy to me,” she said. “I’m super grateful for the entire experience.”
