As I'm putting the finishing touches on next week's piece about what makes Cherdonna a genius—and why we've nominated her for a 2015 Stranger Genius Award—I keep thinking about that one hilarious anonymous commenter who's just sure, sure, that there's something untoward about how much coverage Cherdonna has gotten in The Stranger.

I wrote this profile of Cherdonna last fall, and the commenter wrote:

There's some insider thing going on.

And also:

She gets money from somewhere, funding. Something isn't quite right. All those previous articles, a giant profile leading up to a solo show. Why? There's obviously a personal connection that hasn't been disclosed.

And also:

Would you be surprised if she didn't have some kind of connection with the Stranger Staff? She must.

And then when this Slog post went up, the commenter was back at it:

Again with the Cherdonna. Does someone there owe her money? Jesus fucking Christ! Do you not recall the time you wrote five articles about her and put her on the cover of your arts thing and hyped up her solo show, and the show tanked and was universally disliked?

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. No, I don't remember that at all. I remember the first 15 minutes of that show were slow, and the rest of that show I haven't been able to get out of my head. The flying-through-the-air thing?

As for "a personal connection," let's see: Cherdonna's most ardent champions at The Stranger have been me (gaylord), David Schmader (gaylord), Dan Savage (gaylord), Kelly O (straight woman), and Brendan Kiley (straight man, happily married). And Cherdonna has a girlfriend in real life. So there's no "personal connection" if by "personal connection" this person means what I mean when I say "personal connection."

As for all the dough Cherdonna is apparently rolling in now that she... what... where does her money come from... let's see, she performs at Velocity and that tiny stage at the Pink Door. That's like tens of dollars she's probably rolling in.

But I admire the amateur efforts of this aspiring investigative reporter and I'm excited to hear what he or she is able to dig up! (You don't think it could just be another dancer who's bummed that a great performer is getting attention, do you? No way. Couldn't be.) I hope whoever this conspiracy theorist is shows up to the Genius Awards on September 12, where Cherdonna will be performing the opening number.

The conspiracy continues!!

Now please enjoy this never-before-published photo of Cherdonna holding some wood.