Antoine Dodson: The new, accidental American idol

Internet celebrities can be annoying, says Kathleen Parker in The Washington Post, but Dodson's hit video — a remix of his response to an attempted rape — touches a different chord

An "auto-tuned" remix version of Antoine Dodson's interview about his sister's attacker earned him enough money to move his family out of the projects. Photo: YouTube

"We have a new American idol,"says Kathleen Parker in The Washington Post. And his name is Antoine Dodson. After Dodson thwarted a very "unfunny incident" — an attempted sexual assault on his 22-year-old sister in their Huntsville, AL, housing project — he rocketed to internet superstardom when his furious, fed-up, "hilarious" interview with a local news station went viral. His fame rose to greater heights when an "auto-tuned" remix version  became one of the summer's hit songs (see below). From the song's proceeds, Dodson has earned enough to move his family out of the projects. But unlike other instant, not especially skilled celebrities, writes Parker, "we don't begrudge [Dodson] his moment of fame because, among other things, he made us laugh. He also expressed a rage that most feel but don't express." An excerpt:

Sometimes we don't know quite who we are or what we're made of until forced into action by circumstances. Tsunamis and hurricanes reveal heroes and expose monsters. A would-be rapist and a television crew bring out the beautiful and, yes, hilarious fury of a brother in the throes of his own Howard Beale moment.

Despite the seriousness of the event, it is impossible to keep a straight face as Dodson rails against his sister's assailant, red bandana and passions ablaze. An excerpt will have to do:

"Obviously, we have a rapist in Lincoln Park. He's climbing in your windows, he's snatching your people up, trying to rape them; so y'all need to hide your kids, hide your wife and hide your husband, because they're raping everybody out here. . . . "

Suffice to say, it's all in the delivery.