Just weeks after posting a video online of herself struggling through the drug-induced haze of post-wisdom tooth extraction, Hilary Evans is experiencing a YouTube fame of sorts.
And although the clip has received more than 100,000 hits on the site, the White Rock Christian Academy student insists its popularity is largely due to one person.
“It didn’t get absolutely huge on YouTube until Ellen noticed it.”
Evans, 17, appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show last week after sending in the video to the talk show host and being invited to the Burbank, Calif. studio.
The opportunity stemmed from Evans’ curiosity about how she would act after having her wisdom teeth pulled Feb. 23.
“I didn’t really expect that it was going to be funny. I was just really curious to see what I’d act like because the experiences afterward vary from person to person.”
In the video – filmed by Evans’ sister – she asks her mom if Ellen is in the room.
“She came by right?” Evans says, turning to look behind her. “I swear she was going to be here for today.”
She asks if “they put buried treasure in my mouth,” before bluntly exclaiming, “I need a Tic Tac.”
Evans – who said she has no memory of the events – sent the video to the Ellen show, and was called just a couple days later by producers seeking permission to play the clip on air.
“They phoned back an hour later after we talked and said Ellen had now seen it and thought it was hysterical. Then we realized once Ellen found it funny, it probably had a little more going for it.”
Evans was invited as a guest on the show, and flew out last Wednesday for a taping the following day. The episode aired Friday.
“For me, I wasn’t nervous about any of the TV things. For me, it was all about actually meeting Ellen because I’m such a big fan and so inspired by her.”
Evans’ first encounter with DeGeneres came when she took the seat next to her on stage and chatted with the host on air.
“I’ve watched it so many times,” DeGeneres told Evans. “By the way, I’m being so rude, would you like a Tic Tac?”
Degeneres pulled out a tub of the candies and handed it to a surprised Evans.
The Grade 12 student was also given a large, framed screen-grab from the video that shows herself in the dental chair and a superimposed image of DeGeneres standing behind her, holding a pack of Tic Tacs.
Evans told Peace Arch News this week that she isn’t embarrassed by the video, as she doesn’t mind laughing at herself,
“I think that I do find it funny,” she said.
“I just love making people laugh and this definitely makes people laugh, so it’s been kind of fun.”