Nettspend's Controversial T-Shirt

Six months ago, Nettspend uploaded a photo where he's wearing a T-shirt of the infamously controversial movie, The Brown Bunny. Chloë Sevigny, who Nettspend has also shown an affinity for, stars in the film. Vincent Gallo, the director/editor/producer/star of The Brown Bunny commented "Cool shirt after being tagged by a fan. Gallo has a long and rich history in the world of art that spans decades as well as mediums. Who is he and why are he and his work considered controversial?

Born in Buffalo, New York in 1961, Gallo was born to parents with whom he had a complex relationship. His father was highly abusive and Vincent has described his parents as dishonest people. At the age of 16, Gallo ran away to live in New York City.

He worked jobs in guitar shops as well as a dishwasher. He was so particular and obsessive when it came to washing dishes that customers began to notice and comment on it. This meticulousness would become a staple in Gallo's films and art.

In the following years, Gallo did pretty much everything. He formed a band, "Gray," with his friend Jean-Michel Basquiat. He co-managed a hip-hop crew, "the New York City Breakers," and was shot in the leg during a gang altercation. He had a marriage that lasted 10 weeks. He became a successful painter and quit just to spite the people who wanted to buy his work. He raced motorbikes for Yamaha. He formed another band, "Bunny." He scored a Calvin Klein ad campaign as well as roles in films like Goodfellas, Arizona Dream, Palookaville, and more. 1997 is when he began assembling the cast for a movie of his own.

1998 saw the release of Vincent Gallo's debut feature film, Buffalo 66. By utilizing composition techniques he learned in painting as well as his own aesthetic sensibilities, Gallo created what many call a masterpiece. Every single frame in this movie looks like a painting and its screenplay pulls much of its material from Gallo's own life.

Over the years, critics have called it self-indulgent, sexist, or a "male power fantasy." His costar in the film, Christina Ricci, called him a "raving lunatic" and he called her an "ungrateful c**t." You be the judge, I think this film is terrific.

The criticism for Buffalo 66 would be minimal compared to the response of Gallo's 2003 film, The Brown Bunny. It was booed or received a 10-minute standing ovation (depending on who you ask) at Cannes Film Festival, and esteemed critic Roger Ebert called it "the worst film in the history of the festival" and "one of the most disastrous screenings he had ever attended." Gallo responded to this by calling Ebert a "fat pig," and wishing he'd get colon cancer.

Ebert actually changed his mind after the film was re-edited and said he liked it. Brown Bunny is quite different from his previous film but it is most well known because of the controversy surrounding a scene that shows unsimulated oral sex between Gallo and his costar, Chloë Sevigny.

The combination of the feud, a real sex scene with America's "it-girl," and Gallo's personality made the film a powder keg of drama amongst critics.

Here's the front and back of the shirt. The names on the back belong to the girls that had some sort of relationship with the protagonist, Bud. Daisy is his girlfriend played by Chloë Sevigny.

Since then, Vincent Gallo has made a few films that he has not and probably does not intend to release. He has released a number of solo albums as well as music with his band "RRIICCEE." Give his music a shot if you like experimental or melancholy stuff.

Today, Gallo lays somewhat low in the public eye and only posts every once in a while online, which makes his comment on Nettspend's post pretty cool. His constant battle against critics and his outspokenness towards anything or anyone that pisses him off would qualify him as what the kids now call a "troll" or "ragebaiter."

If you're a woman interested in getting pregnant it is worth noting that you can buy Vincent Gallo's sperm on his website for $1M cash. However, I'm not sure if that offer still stands because as of 2024, he is in a relationship with Star Burton, the ex-fiancé of Charles Manson.