A story by comedian Jeff Foxworthy turned into an online chain letter — but as it spread, his involvement was erased.
The story, “Christmas with Louise,” was published as part of Foxworthy’s 1996 book No Shirt. No Shoes….No Problem! and involves Foxworthy deciding to “fulfill” his brother’s Christmas wishes and buy him an inflatable doll as a gift.
Foxworthy wrote:
Finding what I wanted was difficult. Love Dolls come in many different models. The top of the line, according to the side of the box, could do things I’d only seen in a book on animal husbandry. I settled for Lovable Louise. She was at the bottom of the price scale. To call Louise a doll took a huge leap of imagination.
On Christmas Eve and with the help of an old bicycle pump, Louise came to life.
My sister-in-law was in on the plan and let me in during the wee morning hours. Long after Santa had come and gone, I filled the dangling pantyhose with Louise’s pliant legs and bottom. I also ate some cookies and drank what remained of a glass of milk on a nearby tray. I went home, and giggled for a couple of hours.
The next morning my brother called to say that Santa had been to his house and left a present that had made him VERY happy but had left the dog confused. She would bark, start to walk away, then come back and bark some more.
A screen capture of this excerpt from the book can be seen here:
Foxworthy’s tale gained more readers online, as blogs and message boards reproduced the story of “Louise” for their own readers. But many of them did not acknowledge the original source. And some iterations of the post fabricated a new backstory for it entirely:
This is an article submitted to a 1999 Louisville Sentinel contest to find out who had the wildest Christmas dinners. It won first prize.
In reality there is no “Louisville Sentinel.” And it is unclear how much of Foxworthy’s original story — if anything — was based on real-life events. But Foxworthy himself might suggest that if it hits too close to home for some readers, they might be a redneck.
Update 11/30/2021, 11:35pm PST: This article has been revamped and updated. You can review the original here.