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In an official statement, GoFundMe announced that it is no longer investigating the fundraiser set up by Tessica Brown, aka Gorilla Glue Girl.
Tessica rose to fame after she shared a video of her hair being glued to a crisp, after using gorilla glue instead of hairstyling spray. Her decision led to a month-long ordeal, in which the adhesive stuck to her hair despite her trying to remove it with shampoo and household remedies.
The Gorilla Glue came with clear warning labels that were somehow missed, as the product clearly stated that it was not meant to be applied to the skin. Even the local ER was not able to be of any help.She finally decided to start a GoFundMe to pay for the costly surgery that would be needed.
Tessica was finally free of Gorilla Glue when Dr. Michael Obeng stepped in and offered to execute the pricey procedure for free. With the help of his understanding of chemistry, he was able to create an effective solution to dissolve the glue.
Tessica's GoFundMe came under investigation
After her troubles were finally "dissolved," Tessica wanted to pay it forward by donating majority of the funds ($20,000) to charity, while keeping about $1,000 to cover her flight and ER cost.
The rest of the money would be donated to an organization known as "Restore." Dr. Michael Obeng founded the organization, and it primarily focuses on reconstructive surgery for people in need overseas.
Despite her good intentions, she soon realised that GoFundMe had blocked the function because her fundraiser was under investigation, after being reported as fraud.
In an interview with The Washington Post she stated,
"They won’t even release it to me because that many people have called and said it was a fraudulent account. Every time you look at it, it says it’s under investigation."
Not long ago, a spokesperson for GoFundMe released a statement confirming that Tessica’s fundraiser was no longer under investigation and that she was free to withdraw the money. The company also stated that it was working with Tessica on a withdrawal plan that would allow the funds to be donated seamlessly to the organizations.
Gorilla Glue sales skyrocket
Although Tessica may have got the short end of the deal by putting Gorilla Glue in her hair, the company benefitted hugely, as sales soared. According to reports, the searches for Gorilla Glue on google increased 50 fold in February when compared to January.
The brand's Amazon search volume even saw an increase of 4,378 percent, which has led to a spike in sale as well. It's hard to imagine that all this started from a simple hairstyle gone wrong.
