It began as a prank. A humorous, and principally innocent one — annoying, positive, however most pranks are. And it resulted in dental surgical procedure. However in a great way.
Within the early summer season of 2020, whereas the world was already within the throes of a (hopefully once-in-a-century) pandemic, an Australian lady named Jessica Sewell, then age 29, was coping with an issue unrelated to the virus claiming lives across the globe: her telephone wouldn’t cease ringing. All day lengthy, she obtained voicemails from individuals she had by no means met. And so they had been all doing the identical factor: making roaring noises, hoping to mimic Chewbacca, the Wookiee from the Star Wars franchise.
It wasn’t an accident.
Days or perhaps weeks earlier than the continuous prank calls, Sewell broke up along with her boyfriend — she had found that he had been messaging different ladies through Fb, and doubtless not in a fashion applicable for somebody already in a relationship. Sewell’s ex didn’t take kindly to being dumped and was out for revenge. Petty and principally innocent revenge, fortunately. As seen under (through News9 Australia), he put up posters across the space, inviting passersby to enter a Chewbacca-soundalike contest. To enter, one simply wanted to name the telephone quantity supplied, roar into the telephone as Wookieelike as doable, and hope the judges chosen your entry. The profitable roar would obtain AU$100.
However there was no contest, after all. The telephone quantity on the poster was Sewell’s. The roars had been humorous at first, she admitted, however the limitless stream of undesirable Star Wars jibberish was actually disrupting her life and the sleep habits of her three youngsters. As she informed News9, an area information station, she was “getting telephone calls at actually unusual hours of the night time, from 1 o’clock to 4 o’clock. “Turning her story right into a public curiosity one for the native information appeared like nearly as good of a means as any to get the telephone calls to cease. So she gave the above-linked interview to News9, additionally saying — jokingly — “if there’s anybody on the market who can do the true Chewbacca sound, I’d marry you.”
The wedding proposal didn’t come however the story did go viral, and the telephone calls stopped. However the story wasn’t over.
When TVNZ, a New Zealand station, lined Sewell’s story, considered one of their hosts pivoted the narrative from “humorous prank” to “meanspirited media assault.” For those who watch the News9 clip above — and you must, because it options some fairly good Chewbacca imitations — you could observe that Sewell dyed a few of her hair blue and was lacking a few of her entrance tooth. Wilson Longhurst, the TVNZ presenter who shared Sewell’s story, undoubtedly observed this; because the New Zealand Herald later reported, “On the finish [of the segment], he stated: ‘What a prize Jessica is, with all her tooth and her hair.’” (At the very least the Chewbacca imitators weren’t deliberately being jerks.)
Outrage at Longhurst’s commentary unfold, and whereas Longhurst supplied an on-air apology, the story nonetheless continued to develop. Sewell appeared on TVNZ’s morning present to elucidate what occurred to her tooth — she misplaced them when a earlier accomplice (not the Star Wars man) beat her. As Sewell, a mom to a few children, informed the Herald, “There are lots of women on the market like me, who’ve had home violence so severely … they must hold a smile on their face and hold going for his or her children.”
And whereas she wasn’t asking for something apart from for the Wookiee calls to cease, Sewell ended up getting a bit extra. Folks from throughout Australia and New Zealand contacted her asking how they may assist her get a brand new set of tooth, and she or he arrange a GoFundMe web page, right here, elevating over AU$8,000 (or 80 Wookiees) towards that purpose. And a minimum of one dentist supplied to do the work for her, at no cost.
Chewbacca, as soon as once more, was a hero. (He nonetheless didn’t get a medal.)
Bonus truth: For those who didn’t get that joke on the finish of the principle story — about Chewy not getting a medal — effectively, you’re in luck, as a result of right here’s the reason. Within the 1977 film Star Wars, the nice guys win and on the finish, the heroes — Luke, Han, and Chewbacca — are awarded medals for his or her valor and heroism by Princess Leia. Effectively, type of. Luke and Han get medals, however Chewy simply type of stands there and roars. He by no means will get his medal.
Virtually instantly after the film hit theaters, followers complained in regards to the oversight. Star Wars creator George Lucas supplied a wierd clarification about how Wookies don’t significantly look after medals and in any occasion, as Display screen Rant reported, “The entire contingent from the Insurgent Alliance went to Chewbacca’s individuals and took part in a really massive celebration” per Lucas. (That celebration was most likely not Life Day, and in case you don’t get that joke, you’re most likely higher off.) However that clarification didn’t resonate with Peter Mayhew, the person contained in the Chewbacca costume. As he informed Australia’s Bmag (through CinemaBlend), the probably clarification was most likely a sensible one: “I feel it was considered one of two causes. One, they didn’t find the money for to purchase me a medal. Or two, Carrie [Fisher, who portrayed Princess Leia] couldn’t attain my neck, and it was most likely too costly to construct somewhat step in order that I might step down or she might step up and provides me the medal.”
From the Archives: The Folks Who Shield Chewbacca: It’s really harmful being a 7-foot tall beastman within the wilderness.
