Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 24, 2023. It has since been updated.
Graduation represents a significant accomplishment for any student. Adding to the significance of this day are heartfelt well-wishes from those we admire, including celebrities. However, getting a response from the celebs sounds like a dream but for a young woman named Renee, this is a dream that came true. Renee—who goes by @reneener123 on TikTok—graduated from college in 2022 and sent her extra invitation cards to celebrities. She received responses from several of them a year later, which she shared in a TikTok video. The video has garnered over 12.8 million views and has the caption, “Class of 2023, this is your sign to send your extra graduation cards to celebrities and companies!”
The text overlay of this video reads, “Last year, I sent my extra graduation cards to a bunch of celebrities and here is who actually responded to them.” She had a celebrity-studded list of recipients, including Shaquille O’Neal, Adam Sandler, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and a few others. While not everyone responded, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, Doctor Mike, Adam Sandler and Johnny Depp sent cards congratulating her. In one of the official Patreon videos, Doctor Mike even opened her card. The response from O’Neal was one of her favorites among others because he personalized it with her name.
People in the comment section were absolutely delighted by these responses. @.praiyasmith asked, “How’d you get all of their addresses?” @victoriajohn1 questioned, “How did you send it to them? Do they have a fan mail address?” @tesstakestiktok responded, “I KNEW Shaq would respond. I felt it in my bones.”
Most people were simply curious as to how she procured their messages. Renee responded to these queries in a follow-up video saying, “I just googled all of them. I specifically made sure that I chose their fan addresses and not their actual personal home addresses.” She added, “If you send it to their actual home addresses, that’s really weird and stalkerish, so please don’t do that.” Renee keeps all her letters on a bulletin board in her room, along with her graduation cap.
She also cleared whether she would ever sell these cards. “I stupidly used thumbtacks to put them up on my bulletin board, but I’m not planning on selling them.” Few viewers reported having a similar experience when they sent items to celebrities. “Adam Sandler sent the same exact card you got, I sent my wedding invite. Damn, I thought it was unique,” replied @yunglagoon. “We got the same response from Adam Sandler for my parents’ wedding,” added @rayne.davis.22.
When asked if she also received something else from them other than autographs by @sylcar, Renee replied, “Just the autographs. I sent my cards to a few companies, but sadly they never sent anything back.” Renee managed to inspire others to take the leap and send their cards to celebrities as well. “I already got my list ready,” wrote @thotsnprayers4u.