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What ‘Chewbacca Mom’ Thinks of All That Instant Fame


(CBS)

When Candace Payne, now famously known to the world as "Chewbacca mom", posted a video of herself infectiously laughing while wearing a Chewbacca mask she bought at Kohl's, she never even imagined what would happen next. In just hours, the views of the Facebook Live video skyrocketed to over a million views.

As of this writing, the video has garnered even more views, 2.7M to be exact.

In just a week following the success of her video's views, Chewbacca mom has appeared on The Late Late Show, on Good Morning America, she's met and chatted with The Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams, she's visited the Faceboook headquarters, the Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco, and soon, she'll be meeting up with Chewbacca actor himself, Peter Mayhew, who invited her for a personal chat.

In an interview with PEOPLE, we get to learn what Payne thinks about her instant fame, her plans, and of course, her love for Star Wars.

Apparently, the 37-year-old Texas mom of two is still in shock.

She told the site:

It's something I really can't grasp and understand but I'm just riding every single wave of this and enjoying every single moment. Taking it all in.

She also shared how her husband of 16 years, Chris, who she calls "her rock" introduced her to Star Wars in the first place. Well it seems that her husband has helped he stay on ground with her sudden fame too.

Payne said:

...[My husband is my] biggest support system.

She and Chris apparently introduced their kids to Star Wars when they saw they were fit to see it.

She said:

... they've started really enjoying the action movies. Things that aren't necessarily animated or new, but that are really just fan favorite stuff that mom and dad liked growing up.
They just were engrossed in it as we were when we were kids.

Chewbacca mom added that watching The Force Awakens had become a family affair:

Star Warsis like family to us, with the way that it has incredible story lines and adventure, and good versus evil. You're always trying to see the good guy win. Who wouldn't want to show that to their kids? It's awesome.

PEOPLE noted some interesting information about Chewbacca mom too. It turns out that she was a musical theater major in college, so this would explain how she's such a natural in front of the camera.

Asked about her appearance with Corden and Abrams on The Late Late Show, Payne seemed all cool about it, saying that the filmmaker is "absolutely brilliant."

In the interview, Payne also said she didn't expect her sudden rise to fame. She even thinks she's "not worthy!" of having a special badge to enter the Lucasfilm HQ.

However, Chewbacca mom confidently said that she thinks she can hold her own, saying:

I'll tell you that the people that I've met the past few days have just been incredible people – and not just the ones that I've been sitting on the couch with. Those on the street, or in the hotel, or in the airports wanting to take a photo with me. I've just been blessed.

Personally, I think she deserves all these blessings coming to her. Despite the Live Facebook video being "just a video," it has brought joy to millions of people, and her intent making it in the first place had been genuine. All this fame is just a plus.

Right now, Payne's future is bright. She said there's been doors of opportunities opened. I think there's a high chance that Chewbacca mom might cameo in a Star Wars film. We never know.

You can read PEOPLE's full interview with Chewbacca mom here.

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