El 3 de junio de 1968 Valerie Solanas subió al ascensor de The Factory con Andy Warhol. Cuando llegaron a la oficina del artista, le disparó tres veces. En una entrevista a Glenn O’Brien realizada en junio de 1977 y publicada en High Times en agosto de ese año, Warhol recuerda.
O’BRIEN: How did it happen that Valerie Solanas attacked you?
WARHOL: I had just ridden up in the elevator with her and I turned around to make a telephone call and just heard noise, that’s all.
HIGH TIMES: Did you think about dying?
WARHOL: No, my life didn’t flash in front of me or anything. It was too painful. I put it together after a couple of weeks . . . what happened. I was so drugged up. I just never think about it.
Poco después, el 8 de julio, anotaría en sus diarios: By the way, Valerie has been seen hanging around the Village and last week when I was cruising there with Victor, I was scared I’d run into her and that would be a really weird thing. What would happen? Would she want to shoot me again? Would she try to be friendly?
Richard Avedon capturó en fotografías el pecho con las cicatrices en 1969. De ese año es Andy’s chest, canción de Lou Reed que refiere al hecho, como en I believe, de fines de los ochenta.
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