Twitter Celebrates “Party Monster” Michael Alig’s Release from Prison

Notorious 90s club kid, former addict, and convicted murderer, Michael Alig, was released from prison on Monday after serving 17 years for killing his drug dealer, Andre "Angel" Melendez, by force feeding him Drano. His antics were subsequently profiled in James St. James' nonfiction book Disco Bloodbath, which was then glamorized into the 2003 cult movie Party Monster with Macaulay Culkin as Alig. Needless to say, Alig's profile rose remarkably after entering jail, becoming known in the media as an already eccentric person who partied so hard that even murder was fair game when trying to have a good time.

Alig kept the party going in prison, though, building on his new hipster killer profile by releasing a dance single, writing a book, and giving podcast interviews. He also started a Twitter in January, 2013, by having a friend transcribe his Tweets from phone conversations in prison. He now has 18k followers at the time of his release, and is already busy taking selfies, filming reality shows, and giving interviews.

Maybe he's paid his debt in prison and deserves a second chance, but exploiting the first chance he had for his own celebrity (and most likely $) is pretty fucked up. The most frightening thing about it all, though, is that his growing fan base is treating his release from prison like it's an accomplishment. IDK you guys, I'm not so sure it's cool to pretend you're besties with a convicted murderer...