In case you missed it, the biggest summer action/thriller blockbuster of 2015 isn’t in the theaters–it’s on Twitter, courtesy of user @_zolarmoon. Now being called simply “Zola’s story,” the epic tale of Zola’s (real name Aziah King) ill-fated overnight trip to Florida with a woman she met while waitressing at Hooters includes stripping, prostitution, kidnapping, homicide, and even a poorly executed balcony leap.
I won’t share the entire story in this post, but you can read it in its original tweet form HERE, or in easier-to-read (albeit less authentic) prose form HERE. I will, however, share the opening paragraph, as well as one of the included photos of Zola and Jess, which should be enough to get you hooked.
Y’all wanna hear a story about why me and this b!tch here fell out? It’s kind of long but full of suspense. So I met this white b!tch at Hooters. She came in with this old ass, big ass black dude. So you know as a Hooters girl we have to talk to our customers. So I sit wit them & we get to talkin and she tells me she dances! So I’m like, “oh yes b!tch me too!” Then she tells me this hulking black man is her sugar daddy. I’m like “oh yes b!tch my sugar daddy at home. I feel it I feel it.” So we vibing over our hoeism or whatever. And we exchange numbers! And we like “next time u dance hun ima come dance wit you!” and they leave.
The story has become such a viral sensation that even big-time Hollywood producers and directors are commenting on it! Selma director Ava DuVernay tweeted, “In India reading #Zola. Drama, humor, action, suspense, character development. She can write! There’s so much untapped talent in the hood.”
After an astounded Zola replied, Ava continued: “I see you, sis! I need the book. What’s good? Best seller in waiting. xo” Zola clarified, “I’m not from the hood tho Ava. Ima suburban b!tch. Still love you tho?” Ava then tweeted, “That’s cool. I am though. Ain’t no shame in it at all. Quite the opposite. Pride.”
OK: back to Zola’s story…
The combination of a name plus some very distinctive tattoos allowed the internet to track down Jess’s social media accounts under the name Jessica Rae. Soon after Zola’s story went viral, Jess responded with this frustrated comment on Instagram:
??????????? !!!!Hah okay. Sorry. Excuse and pardonè my French. But seriously, it is not freaking cool AT ALL to wake up to this bulls**t!!! I am over the situations and events. But to be reminded now every damn second about my mistakes honestly freaking hurts. I’ve tried to better myself and move on, you could not just leave me alone? You got the dirty scoop on me, now what? Toodles , missy. ?‼️‼️????⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️???????⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️
Amazingly, her initial reaction didn’t seem to dispute the accuracy of Zola’s story–just that it was shared without her being asked. Jess later made comments that suggest some of the details were wrong. The Shade Room shared a link to the story on Instagram and wrote, “HAVEN’T READ ZOLA’S STORY STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND READ IT NOW!” Jess responded with the comment, “Or have the real story just sayin,” adding the revised hashtag #jessstory.
On her Instagram account, Jess responded several times to the numerous comments about Zola’s story. “Sorry to spoil the fun but Jarretts never jumped out the window,” she wrote. When someone else suggested that she get back with Jarrett, Jess responded with:
Get back together with Jarrett? Won’t happen Jarrett has not been a part of my life in months he’s living his own life with his own girl doing right for him self as am I and I am not Zola I will not put people on blast with out their permission @georgeyoung810 is my man everyone’s gonna have to get used to him on my posts.
Jess’s new boyfriend fiancé (and now manager) George has reached out to Buzzfeed several times on social media offering to tell “the real story” and adding the hashtag #JessStory.
(UPDATE – It seems George and Jess opted to speak with TMZ instead. “THE REAL #JessStory coming from @Tmz,” George tweeted. “We just got off the phone with the producers.”)
UPDATE 2 – TMZ published their Zola’s story update from Jess, and it was kind of a let down. Zola (or George) said the stripping part was for real, but alleges it was Zola who turned to trappin’ after making only one paper George Washington while dancing. (Snap!) Also, she says the pimp shooting the guy with dreads in the face is made up, as was her supposed arrest in Las Vegas. Zola mentioned being pregnant, but added that she is engaged and just wants to “put that escapade behind her.”
UPDATE 3 – FINALLY! Here is the FULL Jess story!
Meanwhile, the question of whether or not the Zola’s story Jess Instagram account is fake or not seems completely moot. The account has been active for three years and includes numerous photos of Jess and her distinctive tattoos — a clear match to the Jess from Zola’s photos:
As far as what Jess is up to now, she is currently 24 weeks pregnant with her second child. Here is one of Jess’s baby bump photos at 16 weeks:
According to her Facebook page, Jess had some serious custody issues with her two-year-old daughter Avarella’s dad Andrew, and was having difficulty getting one-on-one time with her. On a positive note, Jess announced back in May that she got a full-time job at Buckle.
Zola appears to be taking some legal steps to perhaps set herself up to sell her story. “Got WAY more attention than I ever could’ve fathomed,” she tweeted Wednesday night, “literally having a meeting with my lawyer tomorrow to patent this…cus jesus christ.”
As far as the rest of the cast of Zola’s story, there are still two major questions left unanswered:
Who is Jarrett?
WHO IS Z?!
The internet is hard at work trying to solve both of these puzzles, so I’m sure we will know soon enough.
Actually, there is one other major question: Is Zola’s story fake? It’s important to remember that we have had no real verification that any of the events in Zola’s story actually took place. Sure, it seems to have been validated by Jess’s responses, but if she was in on it with Zola (either early on or after the story went viral), then she is acting exactly as you would have scripted her to act.
My biggest issue with the validity of the story is that Zola is admitting to being present (and partaking in, to some degree) some VERY serious crimes, including prostitution, kidnapping, and a homicide. Forget Hollywood directors trying to get in touch with her–if her story is true, then I assume there are a lot of police officers looking to talk to her!
If the story is completely fabricated, then perhaps we should admire Zola even more! She would have clearly pioneered a brand new method of self-publishing your way to success! Although tweets have inspired TV shows (Sh*t My Dad Says), I don’t think a fictional story shared on Twitter has ever inspired a major motion picture, right?
