Comments on: Star Wars Kid Blog Charity: Help, Publicity Stunt or Fraud?

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 12:31:41 +0000

Sorry just to followup, will there be any investigfation into wheter he got the iPod, as the guys said he signed for it…

Also, I really hope someone takes a stand against this a STOP showing the video, let it die!

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 12:29:38 +0000

I think the kid deserves something for entertaining us all so much…in the end, shit hapens and embarressing stuff happens, Ghyslain needs to realise that it wont be every day he runs into someone who recognises him as SWK…

As for the video…its funny cause we all at one time or another pretended to be a ninja (in this case a Jedi) his mistake….was filming it.

Also, i think that a lot of the above comments were very harsh, after all the kid reated badly and is undergoing therapy, not to mention leaving school to finish at home…

Robert.

By: Aquarius

Aquarius — Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:23:13 +0000

Aside from those last two lovely posts (maybe someone would like to remove the teen rape one before someone else unwittingly thinks they’re going to read an on-topic follow-up article?), is there anything new on this?

I’m disgusted by the idea that this was “all Ghyslainâ€™s fault.” Yes, any SW fan (or any fan of ANYTHING, for that matter) has probaby done some pretty geeky things. I don’t know even one human being who hasn’t done something that he’d be mortified about if “everybody” found out.

Yeah, leaving the tape in the machine and not keeping it or destroying it was pretty dumb, but most likely an accident. What is inexcusable is exploiting that simply for the sake of cruelty. It would’ve been another thing altogether if Ghyslain was in on it, thinking “yeah, that’s pretty funny, let’s put it out there.” But this was a stunt to humiliate him. Anyone who would need to torture another human being that way to stroke their own ego is pathetic, regardless of how geeky the person is that they’re making miserable.

Does anyone know if the kid ever got the iPod?

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 08 May 2005 08:39:15 +0000

Publicity stunts and fraud are the same things fella

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 02:08:58 +0000

What are you all thinking? The kid is a big fat loser and he doesnt deserve anything for that. Just because he made an idiot out of himself doesnt mean he should get free stuff. It is his own fault.

By: Alc

Alc — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Kinda harsh, isn’t it? He’s said that he’ll provide proof… if he doesn’t, he will be the no. 1 most hated man on the net. The NY times would probably run another piece on the scam. Hardly profitable, is it? Neither is 2.3 terrabytes of data transfer, for that matter…
Also, I would have thought that the varied reported amounts of money are due to the money increasing over time.

Why the hostility? I would have thought you would have been pleased that fellow bloggers had been part of a big time news story… the file would have spread anyway. If you’re doing this to capitalise on the poularity of the story and attract some of the attention towards your site, I hope you don’t succed.

A few words of advice: cynicism towards charity wins you no friends.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

While I absolutely agree that a healthy dose of skepticism is in order when handing out $3000 to some random person over the internet to send to a kid in Canada, there is no reason to believe Andy will do anything except what he has stated. From the beginning he’s said the money will be collected for a week, and then proof will be provided when they money and/or gifts have been sent to Ghyslain.

As for the about-face you describe as “spin,” one can enjoy the video, while simultaneously feeling bad that this kid was put on display. It’s funny because likely you did stuff like this when you were a kid. I know I did.

I think it’s great that the kid’s going to get a little (or big) reward for his humiliation. Your article comes off as bitter that your weblog isn’t recieving the attention and traffic that Mr. Baio’s is.

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I know Andy personally, and I know he is completely honest when he says all the money will go toward items for the kid.

By: Anil

Anil — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

It’s legitimate to question the line of where enjoying the video becomes exploitation, no matter how well-intentioned anyone involved is. But the idea to raise money for buying the kid an iPod came up in a conversation between me and Andy, and I know that he’s absolutely 100% trustworthy in that regard. Whether it’s simply people assauging their guilt for laughing at a kid or it’s a legitimate show of sympathy for someone they identify with, the reality is that a bunch of strangers are doing something nice for a teenager, and I think that’s a good thing.

By: a2k

a2k — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

What we should really be worried about are all of the kids who previously made fun of kids like Ghyslain but – upon seeing his new-found fame and cool apple gear – are suddenly releasing videos of their own in an attempt to repeat his success.

By: Derek

Derek — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I think it’s far more likely that this is a publicity stunt for you. After all, blogherald.com has only been around for three months (whereas Jish and Waxy have been going for years). What better way to get noticed than to crap on something so positive and beloved by the communty?

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dude! What is all this? The video is funny as crap, so what if the kid is embarressed? I think this Baio guy wimped out, he had the right idea to exploit Ghyslain (or Fat Star Wars Kid, as I call him) because it’s FSWK’s fault completely. Screw the fundraiser. Any funny fat kid can do what he did. Don’t give him money, you bunch of fatheads.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yikes, aren’t we a little bitter?

By: Beth

Beth — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t have an opinion on whether Baio is honest or not, but I think he may not be as innocent/worthy of lauding as many are making him out to be. For example, Baio said he’s withholding Ghyslain’s last name because he’s a minor….when you download the video, it shows Ghyslain’s last name clearly….so while he may not be mentioning Ghyslain’s last name in press reports, Ghyslain’s last name is clear to all when you do what Baio wants you to do…go to his site and view the video.

By: kellie

kellie — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

the video is ludicrous. ridiculous!!
there’s no reason why this kid should get money, that’s scandalous… tell him to stop being such a loser PLEASE. or else i might just have to smack some sense into this kid!!!

By: MT Mafia come after WordPress

MT Mafia come after WordPress — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

[...] er Andy Baio of Waxy.org, who readers may remember shamelessly exploited the Star Wars Kid for publicity in 2003, has launched an unprecedent [...]