Childish Gambino - VI. Who is Abella Anderson? [tekst, tłumaczenie i interpretacja piosenki]

Abella Anderson’s character in “Clapping For The Wrong Reasons” is very ambiguous. She wakes THE BOY up at the beginning of the short film, and is constantly appearing around the house, but no one, not even THE BOY, knows who she is

Take note, in the “3005″ lyric video, Abella Anderson is a cam girl and is in a private show with THE BOY

In the script, THE BOY is having a conversation with ALYSSA whilst in Sweden (hey, remember that thing about the Callifax Collection Company?). She exclaims that she does not believe in small talk and asks him about past relationships

[Quote: "Because The Internet" screenplay]
ALYSSA: I don’t believe in small talk. What’s the longest relationship you’ve been in?
THE BOY: Five years
ALYSSA: Wow. What happened?
THE BOY: I’m still in it
ALYSSA: Oh?
THE BOY: She does private web shows. We’re not together. But it’s a relationship, for sure.
ALYSSA: I don’t get it
THE BOY: I used to watch her online a while back. Then she quit and started doing private shows. Then it just started turning into talking. Mostly
[End quote]

He mentions being in a relationship with a cam girl. The parallel between this conversation and the “3005″ lyric video makes it seem as though Abella Anderson’s character is the girl he is talking about. But then why doesn’t know/remember her in “Clapping For The Wrong Reasons”?

We assume that the short film takes place before the events of the script but we don’t necessarily know how long. For all we know, the short film could take place 5 years before the events of the script, but that seems unlikely. What seems more likely is that this a symbol of: no matter how much you interact with someone online, you never truly know who they are. [Shoutout to Jack Kinnett]. He’s been having this relationship that is not “real”, and so when she appears around the house in the short film, he doesn’t know who she is