Willie’s rise to social media fame started September 4, 2021, with a video posted by him and his friend, Chad Horne. At the time it was posted, Willie had 12 followers. Now, he has amassed nearly 400,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 300,000 followers on TikTok.
“A couple days went by, and I checked back on it, and it was at 1.7 million views,” Horne said.
Willie has resided in Crenshaw County his whole life. Before becoming a social media influencer, Willie lived a much different life.
“I worked in chicken houses,” Willie said. “I hauled hay. I set pine trees out.”
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Now with millions of followers, as well as chances to meet celebrities like comedian Kevin Hart and former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Willie’s newfound fame has proven to be a blessing.
“Willie now has six acres of land, his own house by himself, an air conditioner that he didn’t have. He’s got a nice place to sleep,” Horne said. “He don’t have to worry about anything.”
Out of everything he has done since his rise to internet fame, Willie said meeting Saban was the best experience of his life.
“He patted me on the back and said, ‘Hey, I made his days and nights,” Willie said. “I mean that made me feel good coming from the greatest coach of all time.”
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Following this year’s legislative session, many Alabama lawmakers have been traveling the state to talk to constituents about ongoing community issues.
State Sen. Jack Williams (R-Wilmer) was successful in getting a bill passed last session that bans lab-grown meat in Alabama. His work focuses on keeping artificial meat out of the state.
“That’s not good for our kids and all, so I’m steadily focusing on chicken and everything that might have antibiotics in it,” Williams said.
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State Sen. Robert Stewart (D-Selma) was recently appointed to the Reentry Commission. The agency works with the Department of Corrections to reduce recidivism, which is the tendency of a convicted criminal to re-offend.
“We want to reduce recidivism in half in ten years by the end of the decade,” Stewart said. “[We’re] excited about those opportunities when we talk about addressing our criminal legal system.”
State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover) said she’s been attending programs to learn more about getting students into the workforce. She’s been working to distribute grant money to schools that need it most.
“That’s the fun part of our job: to get in there and give some money to the teachers,” DuBose said. “There are all sorts of programs that they want to be able to implement that they often just don’t have enough funding for.”
Lawmakers have a few months left to prepare for the next legislative session which starts in February 2025.
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