Chewbacca Mask Lady

Reaction

The mask flew off shelves everywhere after the video went viral, with Forbes noting that online retailers sold out completely. Kohl’s, the store where Candace Payne bought the mask, gave her roughly $2,500 in gift cards, a pile of Star Wars toys, and 10,000 reward points. On May 23, 2016, British TV hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield wore the masks on This Morning. Payne herself appeared on Good Morning America that same day, where Hasbro handed her even more Star Wars toys.

Later, the Gregory Brothers released an autotuned remix of her video. She also joined James Corden and J. J. Abrams on The Late Late Show, and appeared on the Star Wars YouTube channel’s “The Star Wars Show” on May 25, 2016. For a Memorial Day weekend appearance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, she received $7,500; she got $2,000 to attend Fan Expo Dallas alongside Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew; and Southeastern University awarded her $400,000 in scholarship money.

By June 7, 2016, the total value of gifts and payments had surpassed $420,000. On May 24, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg invited Payne to visit the company’s California headquarters. By then, her video had racked up over 140 million views on Facebook, making it the most-viewed Facebook Live video ever, with more than three million reshares. On June 19, Payne and her family visited Hasbro headquarters, where she received a custom “Chewbacca Mom” action figure.

The toy has a Chewbacca body but a head modeled after Payne, complete with a removable Chewbacca mask. It also includes 13 prerecorded phrases, such as “That’s not me making that noise, it’s the mask” and “I am such a happy Chewbacca.” Since then, Payne has become a video blogger for TLC and published a book about her experience, Laugh It Up!: Embrace Freedom and Experience Defiant Joy (2017). She is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University.

Did You Know?

• The video was the most viewed Facebook Live video of all time as of May 24, 2016, with over 140 million views.
• The video's widespread perception as a distraction from serious issues is the likely origin of the term 'milkshake duck,' according to the term's creator.
• The video was parodied in the 2018 Disney animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet as 'Chewbacca Dad.'