Gina Marie
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A new grass-roots political campaign has been spreading in Los Angeles and around the world like an e-mail chain letter: a call to ``free'' actress Winona Ryder.
The 30-year-old ``Girl, Interrupted'' star, arrested on suspicion of shoplifting in a posh Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue store last month, is free on $20,000 bail. She has been accused, but not formally charged, of removing security tags from nearly $5,000 worth of clothing and accessories and stuffing them into a shopping bag.
And therefore the slogan, ``Free Winona,'' created by Los Angeles gift shop owner Billy Tsangares and printed in jail-issue-style block letters on more than 600 T-shirts that have sold like tooth whitener in the weeks since Ryder's arrest, is basically bogus.
No matter. This is L.A. (''Lala Land'' to the uninitiated) and the $15 ``Free Winona'' shirts are gaining sales momentum and popping up in many of the city's trendiest spots.
``Sales are exploding, I'm getting 100 calls a day,'' Tsangares told Reuters.
But, like, why?
``With the types of political events that have been going on since Sept. 11 it's been hard to make a statement that isn't consistent with 'Stop Terrorism' or 'Promote the USA.' This type of humor is a way to be political without necessarily taking a stand that's going to offend somebody,'' Tsangares said.
``This gives people an expression that is radical and at the same time meaningless,'' he added.
To that end, Tsangares on Wednesday launched a $20 canvas tote bag bearing Ryder's mug with the slogan, ``I paid for this stuff.''
