Through his viral instagram page, Humans of New York, Brandon Stanton has been able to raise over 2.65 million dollars for Stephanie Johnson, a retired burlesque dancer known as Tanqueray.
Stanton started his instagram page as a photography project back in 2010. His goal was to “photograph 10,000 New Yorkers on the street, and create an exhaustive catalogue of the city’s inhabitants.” With over 11 million social media followers, Stanton has been able to capture his viewers’ attention with the amazing and often tearful stories of his interviewees.
His latest series focuses on Stephanie Johnson who told a few of her life stories in his 32 part feature called “Tattletales by Tanqueray.” She was first interviewed in November, 2019, but because of public demand for more of her interesting stories, Stanton began to work with her on a podcast.
Unfortunately, this plan fell through after Johnson fell down a flight of stairs and suffered alone for 72 hours. Johnson was later found after Stanton asked neighbors to check on her. After her accident was discovered, she was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Wheelchair bound and in need of money to pay fees and to hire a part-time nurse, Johnson worked with Stanton to simultaneously get her stories out and raise money.
Johnson and Stanton decided to release her stories on his instagram page throughout the week of September 21st. This was to raise awareness for Johnson’s plight and viewers were directed to a gofundme link in the page’s bio. Throughout the week, thousands of people contributed to the fund, raising over 2.65 million dollars for Johnson and 200,000 more followers for Stanton.
Johnson’s stories started with her childhood and ended with events that happened a few years ago. She detailed her mother’s abuse, the racism she endured, failed relationships, and colorful run-ins with celebrities. She also recounted her rise to fame which made her the first Black woman to be a feature at a burlesque show.
Not all of Johnson’s stories had happy endings. When she spoke about New York, she explained how the city has changed for the worse. “There’s nowhere to go that people can get to know each other. Or if there is a place to go—you need a corporate credit card just to afford a drink. What about the regular people? They used to have choices too…Sure, New York is more family friendly now—but not everyone has a family.”
Stanton’s latest book, Humans, will be released on October 6th. When Johnson was given an advanced copy and asked to review the book, she responded, “Hell no! I already know my story is the best, so I’m not reading the rest.”