Branden Miller

Branden Miller was raised in Hopewell, Virginia, and adopted by Buddy and Veronica Miller. In 2002, his adoptive father died of cancer. Miller claims he had a difficult time discussing his homosexuality with his classmates, and described himself as "trade". He came out to his family and friends after his sister discovered gay porn on his computer, and says he was not shown support from his mother, who claimed his sexuality was unbiblical. Miller discovered at the age of 17 that he was adopted, and that he was born to a mother of Puerto Rican descent and a black father of unspecified heritage. After becoming aware of his adoption, Miller began to dress in drag every day for several months. He dropped out of high school before graduation. Before creating the character of Joanne, Miller began starring in pornographic videos on "cam sites" at the age of 18, under the pseudonym "Playboi Branden". In his pornographic videos, he would "act straight" in order to appeal to those who fetishized "gay-for-pay" men. ==Character==

"Miss Prada" and conception Miller says that Joanne's creation was inspired by videos made by YouTube personality Cara Cunningham, mainly her video "Leave Britney Alone". She was initially created as the character "Miss Prada", Joanne's appearance typically includes a fur coat and a mid-length blonde wig. In May 2016, Miller was emailed by an anonymous person claiming to work for Twitter, who would "verify" his account if he provided certain information. However, the anonymous person deleted Joanne's account instead. The person asked for $500 in return for the Twitter account, which Miller refused to pay. Eventually, the Twitter handle was returned to Miller and was also verified. In August 2016, Miller joined the entertainment network Super Deluxe to begin creating a series of videos starring Joanne the Scammer. The first, entitled "Caucasian Living with Joanne the Scammer", stars actress Chelsea Peretti. Miller also starred in an 8-minute long Thelma & Louise-themed short entitled "Khadi & Joanne", which also starred internet personality and comedian Khadi Don, and was produced by Super Deluxe as well. Reception Joanne the Scammer has received attention from various notable figures such as Selena Gomez, Teyana Taylor, Ariana Grande, Amber Rose, Miller co-hosted Amber Rose's annual SlutWalk Festival in 2016. The Fader describes Joanne as "a fiercely independent hot mess who goes to obscene, hilarious lengths to look out for herself" and "a byproduct of how frightening and lonely the world can feel". Teen Vogue describes the character as "a self-proclaimed 'messy b*tch who lives for the drama'". The Huffington Post says that Joanne gained popularity through "embezzlement and offensive remarks". BuzzFeed called her "a hilarious and compelling character that has become wildly popular on Twitter". The character also appeared in Fergie's music video for "Tension". The character had a cameo appearance in Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral. ==References==