On this day 1968: Valerie Solanas, a radical feminist and author of SCUM Manifesto shot and injured eccentric pop culture artist Andy Warhol in his Manhattan studio. Though Warhol was initially being pronounced dead he later survived.
Valerie Solanas claims she was angry because Warhol had lost the script of her SCUM Manifesto. Accompanied by her boyfriend Jed Johnson she then went to Warhol’s Manhattan studio with a pistol hidden in a bag. Once inside, she pulled out the gun and fired three shots, and Warhol fell to the floor.
She also shot Warhol’s friend before her gun jammed and she fled. She later turned herself in saying she shot Warhol because he had too much control of her life. Her frustration arose from repeated failed attempts to curry favour and ride on Warhol’s personality to fame.
Solanas had a turbulent life after being abandoned by her dad. She gave birth at the age of 15 and worked as a prostitute in New York City. She served 3 years in prison for the shootings and spent much of her life on the streets and in for schizophrenia before her death in 1988. A year after Warhol died.
