Viral drunk raccoon becomes global star
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Within days of being outed as the masked bandit who passed out drunk on the bathroom floor of an Ashland ABC store, our local raccoon has reached global stardom.
Why it matters: We knew him first.
The big picture: Since learning about him on Tuesday, he's:
- Ended up on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the TODAY show, BBC, in The Guardian, AP, and the Times of India.
- Caught the attention of Attorney General Jason Miyares, who has promised "an immediate and full investigation…:)"
- Had the State Inspector General question whether he's a state employee and should be looked into and briefly become a safe driving campaign for VDOT and ABC.
Zoom in: The chaos he caused, which Virginia ABC said included $250 worth of broken liquor bottles, led Virginia Distillery Co. to make a statement apologizing to the raccoon's family, signed "Hugh Jliability."
- He even has his own Spotify Wrapped, courtesy of Hanover government, and holiday liquor recommendations and personalized cocktails — including a "Trash Panda Old Fashioned — from ABC.
By the numbers: "Trashed Panda" shirts inspired by him have raised over $58,000 for the Hanover animal shelter that found the splooter, as of Thursday afternoon.
- A GIF of him falling from the shelves, a result of the Virginia ABC sharing security footage with Axios. has been viewed more than 200,000 times.
- And now multiple people say they want to drink with him.
The bottom line: The trashed panda was "Not the hero we needed, but the hero we deserve," one X user wrote.
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