10 years ago, wisconsin history was made.
The TikTok generation’s embrace of a viral Bath and Body Works rant proves pettiness is universal.
Queering the Burbs is a regular distillation of pop culture, politics and west suburban Illinois queerness written by Joe Erbentraut. If you like what you see, please consider subscribing (it’s free!), liking or sharing this piece.
Let me start out by saying something that will probably not age well over the next few years: TikTok gets a bad rap. To many folks who are unfamiliar with the platform, it’s thought of as a place where Gen Zers do dance challenges and little else. But one of my favorite things about the platform — besides its eerily knowledgeable algorithm — is the way that it resurfaces old, almost pre-viral phenomena for a new generation.
The latest example of this hit my feed a few weeks ago and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I honestly think it’s one of the internet clips that has had the most impact on my life to date? It’s a Wisconsin woman named Angela’s iconic YouTube rant against Bath and Body Works, and it was unleashed upon the world 10 years ago next month.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, here we go: In November 2012, Neenah YouTuber @Az4angela posted the 11-minute video “I MIGHT Boycott Bath & Body Works RANT!” In the video, Angela describes in a classically thick Wisconsin accent her desperate efforts to obtain two specific holiday candles — Winter Candy Apple and Iced Gingerbread — from the mall chain’s Appleton, Wisconsin store. Among the highlights of Angela’s “extremely explicit” video:
She believes the Packers won the game they were playing on that day, but she can’t be sure because she’s “been busy taking care of bitches all day” and missed the game. Making a Wisconsin resident miss a Packers game is big time biz.
The candles she was told were in stock weren’t actually in stock at the physical store, but instead she was told they were in an “offsite store” (emphasis on the air quotes). Extremely sus.
Manager Jen later explains that she was mistaken and the candles were also out of stock at the “offsite store.” Jen’s about to regret that.
Angela already has “every single coupon that Bath & Body Works has” and doesn’t need any of the coupons manager Jen offered her as a courtesy.
“A live person? Who the f*** do you think I’m talking to now?! Am I talk to you who is not really here? Are you reality? Because I thought you were a live person? Are you not a live person?”
“I’m telling ‘em, Jen. Oh, Jen. Your ass is gonna get reamed.”
Over the past decade, the video has been seen over 3 million times and has inspired many copycats and tributes like this 2014 reenactment, and most recently a spot-on impersonation by Texas TikToker @the.localhedgewitch.
In a five-part series, the TikToker matches Angela’s dialogue, gestures and facial expressions almost perfectly, and the videos have been so popular that they have far eclipsed the audience of the original video itself with over 20 million views combined across the series, plus countless retweets and shares on Twitter from the likes of actor Patton Oswalt. The tribute even has earned the seal of approval from Angela herself, who continues to post similar videos to various social media platforms to this day. Still no word from manager “Jen,” for what it’s worth.
What explains this video’s relatability, particularly for those who are not familiar with southeastern Wisconsin geography? Well, if you’ve ever worked a retail or food service job, I’m confident you’ve encountered many Angelas over the years. I’ll never forget the time I was working at a Brazilian restaurant after college and a customer complained that I hadn’t properly warned her how blue cheese-y the blue cheese on her sandwich would be. Really!
If we’re being honest though, there’s a little bit of Angela in all of us. Though I can’t say I’ve ever threatened a retail manager by name on a YouTube channel, I could see how the right combination of dehydration, overcaffeination, hunger and planetary alignment could potentially elicit some sort of outburst from me, or at the very least a passive-aggressive Google review (for the record, I am currently boycotting a local crystals retailer over a perceived slight from years ago, even if they don’t know it).
But back to Angela, isn’t it easier and honestly more fun to create a villain out of an annoying circumstance? Whether it be manager “Jen,” Mercury in retrograde or “the vibes” being off, it makes it a little easier to get through this existence of life when you’re able to point at something else other than a reflection in the mirror, even out of jest. Besides, it’s good to be a little petty from time to time. Most of us are way too hard on ourselves anyway.
And it is the American way, right? Capitalism 101? To feel at least a little bit owed something over even a minor inconvenience? All of this is not to condone Karen behavior especially when it’s directed toward a minimum wage worker, however. If only we could, in the words of another recent old-viral-content-gone-viral-again, just taste the biscuit, taste the goodness of the biscuit. Tasting the biscuit = the new “go touch grass.” Ninety-nine times out of 100 it just ain’t that deep, folks!
LOCAL HAPPENINGS:
If you’re reading this from the Chicago suburbs, I wanted to shout out Belong: Fox Valley for hosting a National Coming Out Day event tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Fox Valley Presbyterian Church in Geneva. The event starts at 6 p.m. and features crafts, games, and tacos and cookies for sale from Fernando’s Street Kitchen and The Tiny Kitchen. More details on Facebook.
Aurora is getting a new metaphysical supply shop called Hoof & Horn and it is currently slated to open on Wednesday, October 12 at 14 W. Downer Place #16. The shop was previously located in Yorkville. Go support this business!
If you’re looking to get spooky, Annie Hex is hosting a Queer Halloween Costume Party at Sidecar Supperclub’s beer garden on Saturday, October 22. Tickets cost $15 and the night will include drag performances and DJing from yours truly. It’s going to be truly, truly lit.
WATCHING, LISTENING, READING:
Making and keeping friendships as an adult can be a big challenge. The New York Times just ran a story on the topic that really felt true for me, and it offers some real tips on how to find and enhance these connections over time.
William Shatner went to space on a Blue Origin flight and apparently hated it. His essay for Variety really struck me, especially this sentence: “I discovered that the beauty isn’t out there, it’s down here, with all of us.”
Twitter taught me that the Dracula parrot is very much a real thing. Read all about it in My Modern Met.
Sudan Archives’ new album Natural Brown Prom Queen is brilliant and has been on near constant repeat amid a whole bunch of other incredible albums that have dropped in recent weeks. Enjoy this video for “Home Maker,” which looks as though it could have been filmed in a Brown Elephant resale shop.