Gary Coe, also known as “Gary from Chicago,” became a viral sensation at the 2017 Academy Awards and now he’s revealing what happened to him after the show.
Jimmy Kimmel surprised a Hollywood tour bus full of unsuspecting fans by having them walk into the Dolby Theatre in the middle of the Oscars ceremony.
Jimmy singled out a man named Gary and his fiancee Vicki. He even had Denzel Washington officiate an impromptu wedding ceremony during the show.
After the show, the media dug up Gary‘s story and how he had just been released from prison three days earlier after serving 20 years.
“It was great for my family and friends to see me on the Oscars,” he told THR. “But two days later, [the media] tried to make it something ugly.”
“It was horrible,” Gary said about the attention from the media. “I didn’t ask to be put on the Oscars. I was minding my own business, walking down the street. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy — that’s America for you.’”
He added, “And how about the way it’s come down? Look what happened to Harvey Weinstein! Come to find out that the people up in really high places are the ones we should’ve been watching, and not some poor little black guy that’s been locked away in prison for the last 20 years!”
