When then-13-year-old Rebecca Black’s music video “Friday” hit the web in February 2011, she soon became the most mocked person on YouTube. In her first interview after her amateurish pop song became the nation’s biggest joke, Black—an Orange County, Calif., eighth grader—told The Daily Beast it was hard being a punchline. “Those hurtful comments really shocked me,” Black said. “It feels like I’m being cyberbullied.” But she made an effort to stand up for herself. “I decided not to give the haters the satisfaction that they got me so bad I gave up,” she said. “I want to show people there’s more to me than they think.” And she did. Black came out with a second song, “My Moment,” appeared in a Katy Perry music video, and has been hitting red-carpet events and premieres. But eventually, the taunting proved too much for Black, who recently told Nightline she’ll now be home-schooled by her mom. “When I walk by they’ll start singing ‘Friday’ in a really nasally voice,” the now 14-year-old said. “Or, you know, they'll be like, ‘Oh hey, Rebecca, guess what day it is?’” Black added, “It's hard because everyone wants to say, 'Oh my God, I'm this big star now.’ ” Well, not exactly.
