Ratatelle’s Instagram bio describes the rodent as a certified Swiftie, a part-time emotional support animal and a full-time icon. Recently, she added entrepreneur to the list.
The St. Thomas University meme page is launching a line of stickers through RedBubble. Money made from the sales will be donated to a non-profit organization in Fredericton.
Alberto Chávez, a first-year student from Ecuador, found out about the account after a friend mentioned that a rodent from Holy Cross was running a meme page.
Since then, he liked all of Ratatelle’s posts for their humour and relatability.
“[Ratatelle’s posts are] my early morning coffee now,” he said. “I think we all have a piece of Ratatelle inside our lives.”
Chávez is considering buying one of Ratatelle’s stickers to help with the fundraiser and have a funny story to tell his friends back home.
“When I come back to Ecuador, it will be a good backstory to tell my friends about Taylor Swift holding a rat,” he said.
One of the most popular sticker designs is a sticker of Taylor Swift at the 2021 Grammys, holding a photoshopped Ratatelle in her hands.
The stickers for sale are all images from Ratatelle’s Instagram. One is a screenshot of Ratatelle commenting, “are we about to kiss right now?” Others showcase the rodent photoshopped onto pictures of classic scenes that feature Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Titanic and Kristen Stewart in Twilight.
On Feb. 12, Ratatelle added hoodies and t-shirts to the collection due to demand from her followers. Written on the shirts are the words, “I am in a Taylor Swift music video. Location: Fredericton, N.B.”
Monica Riccio, a first-year student, bought a Taylor Swift X Ratatelle sticker and proudly put it on her laptop.
“I wanted to right away,” said Riccio. “[Ratatelle’s] sense of humour is kind of similar [to mine],” she said.
Riccio first heard about Ratatelle’s account when the meme page followed her and she followed back.
“There’s a lot of funny photoshops that they put up,” she said.
Although Ratatelle hasn’t confirmed to which organization she is donating the money, she mentioned in an Instagram story she was considering an animal shelter.
Chávez likes the idea of donating the money.
“It all started as a joke, right? But I think it’s a good initiative … to direct all the money to a non-profit organization,” said Chávez.
The Aquinian contacted the account managers of Ratatelle for an interview, but they said they would prefer to remain anonymous, followed by two memes, in proper Ratatelle fashion.
