OPINION: Granny shouldn’t have to be in the garbage
A while back, we ran an article in this paper about a local Bensonhurst celebrity, “Maria, the Ice Cream Girl,” who is well-known for her charity efforts and her occasional forays into show business as well as for selling ice cream.
As we reported, it seems that Maria (whose real name is Campanella) recently recorded a YouTube video, “Yo Granny’s In My Garbage.” The video featured an actress in an old-fashioned Chinese coolie-style hat rummaging through garbage cans for soda cans and bottles in the middle of the night, and wakening an annoyed Campanella.
Some Asian-Americans protested that the video is anti-Asian. One also said that the “granny” actress was also wearing yellowish makeup, although I couldn’t see that. Ms. Campanella denied charges of prejudice – she said that the hat is “just a hat,” and that she is annoyed by all can-collectors, not only Asians. In the end, Campanella, saying that “some of my best friends are Asians,” or something like that, pulled the video.