NEW YORK: A young girl whose childhood photo went viral has made nearly a million dollars by selling the original copy of the meme as a non-fungible token (NFT).
The now 21-year-old subject of the disaster girl meme, Zoe Roth, immediately received $500,000 and will retain copyright over it, ensuring a further 10 per cent share of any future sales of the NFT.
Roth said she would use the money to fund her college education and donate to charity. The NFT was purchased by 3F Music, a Dubai-based music studio. In a statement in March, 3F Music explained its purchase was in step with technological markets.
“Our management team is always in cooperation with some highly knowledgeable and experienced art advisers who believe that we must grow with technological movements that help us to not only promote our business but also to support artists and the art market,” it said in a statement.
The disaster girl meme is used to illustrate gratification from others’ misery. The image of Roth has enjoyed a rare sustained internet success spanning more than a decade.
In 2005, Roth’s father took the photo of the then five-year-old smirking at the camera as a house fire burns in the background. The meme became a bedrock for expressing gain from the misfortune of others.
According to media reports, the house fire was a controlled blaze set by firefighters who were letting local children in the North Carolina neighbourhood take turns holding the hose.
Roth said she consulted the subjects of two other memes who also found rare internet fame before deciding to sell the image.
Digital artworks called NFTs are selling for thousands, even millions of dollars. Ben Lashes, who manages the Roths and subjects of other memes including ‘Grumpy Cat’, ‘Success Kid’ and ‘Doge’ said his clients have cumulatively made over $2 million in NFT sales.
