She came, she saw, she conquered the Equifax Senate Banking Committee hearing—dressed up like the "Monopoly Man." Amanda Werner went viral after she donned her top hat, mustache, and monocle Wednesday to resemble Rich Uncle Pennybags, sitting behind ex-Equifax CEO Richard Smith, and on Friday, Werner addressed her adoring public via a Reddit AMA. After introducing herself as a "lawyer, activist, and professional troublemaker" (as well as revealing her new Twitter feed), Werner tackled fans' questions, including how she was able to get into the hearing without arousing suspicion, how she kept from giggling, and whether Smith noticed her. "Oh, I absolutely caused suspicion, but luckily my actions fell within protected free speech," she writes. "I knew which seat to sit in because I have watched and attended many Senate Banking hearings as a (plain-clothes) advocate."
Werner says she kept her cool because of that "professional" in "professional troublemaker" ("I was on a mission"), and that videos later revealed Smith to have turned around and glanced at her with "a pretty priceless alarmed face"; she notes some of his associates also gave her "dirty looks throughout." She also reveals it "takes a lot of eye muscle" to keep Pennybags' monocle in place (a prop that, as the Washington Post pointed out during the AMA, the Hasbro mascot doesn't actually wear) and that her favorite Monopoly piece is … the iron: "Gotta keep this suit pressed." GQ also conducted its own Q&A with Werner, asking her about more of the serious stuff surrounding her stunt—specifically, forced arbitration in the banking industry—as well as how it felt to become an instant meme. "I take pride in my work," she notes. "Richard Smith is the one who should be embarrassed." (More Equifax stories.)
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