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“Quiet up and listen down. Nope. Scratch that, reverse it.”
Photo: Jeenah Moon/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Unlike the series of plagues Yahweh unleashed on the Egyptians in the Book of Exodus, our world has become infested with something far more annoying: celebrity look-alike contests. Okay, sure, October’s Timothée Chalamet long-lost twin competition was the sort of grassroots and gleefully stupid affair that briefly makes having an internet-addled brain worth it. But like most viral moments, these things tend to linger well past their expiration date. A scourge of look-alike contests has since popped up across the globe with no signs of stopping.
The America’s Next Top Hunk competitions have been holding out strong, but we’ll get our first female celebrity competition on November 20, when Zendaya look-alikes are set to take over Oakland. Since these stunts aren’t going anywhere, we might as well make some outrageous predictions. Will Isla Fisher win the inevitable Amy Adams look-alike contest in Los Angeles? Will Rita Ora tweet that she’ll give her look-alike contest winner a sneak peek at her new music, then claim she was hacked when no one shows up? We’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, a rundown of this year’s celeb doppelgänger contests and the long-lost-twins who won.
When: October 27
Where: Washington Square Park, NYC
Vibe: Announced with fliers taped around the city by YouTuber Anthony Po that immediately went viral, anticipation was higher than Chalamet’s cheekbones. The day of, NYU’s unofficial campus was flooded with more brooding brown-haired twinks than finals week as the Timothées descended on the park to hundreds of onlookers and dozens of journalists. The event got out of hand quickly: Police ordered the crowd of thousands of Chalamet zealots and content creators to disperse, even arresting one unlucky contestant. The contest was moved to a nearby park, where Chalamet himself stopped by to crash the party and prove X user @ClubChalamet’s theory about his whereabouts wrong. The lesson here: if you build it, Timmy will come (no peach-related pun intended).
Who won: 21-year-old Miles Mitchell-as-Wonka-Timmy took home the $50 prize.
When: November 7
Where: Smithfield Square
Vibe: Even though the New York–Dublin portal shut down in September, Ireland glimpsed America’s fun (and online fervor) on behalf of our national heartthrob and decided to mimic it in honor of their own big brave strong boy. After @paulmescallookalike posted a TikTok on November 1 promoting the contest, young Irish men far and wide donned their short shorts, laced up their running shoes, and took over the plaza – or, at least, a small portion of it. Mescal himself was a no-show, busy promoting Gladiator II across town at Trinity College at the time. Guess the Normal People star left this one for the normal people.
Who won: 25-year-old Jack Wall O’Reilly bested the other six competitors (one of whom had not planned on competing but stopped by en route to work) and nabbed the reward of €20, the equivalent of three pints, Metro UK reported. Mescal did congratulate O’Reilly on a much-deserved victory after the fact – it was the wired headphones that clinched it.
When: November 9
Where: Soho Square, London
Vibe: The UK hopped on the look-alike bandwagon with a contest for former boyband breakout Harry Styles. Journalist Katrina Mirpuri organized the event, which saw a dozen shaggy-haired hopefuls vie for the title of Mr. Styles 2.0, according to Variety. The Grammy winner was nowhere to be found, but maybe it was for the best. The online sentiment started to turn sour here, when fans agreed that “NOBODY’s touching [Styles’s] face card.”
Who won: 22-year-old musician Oscar Journeaux was bestowed the 50-quid grand prize by Love Island’s Eyal Booker.
When: November 10
Where: Dolores Park, SF
Vibe: Hundreds showed up to watch the best Monkey Man-director look-alikes in the Bay Area duke it out. After friends Sitara Bellam, Tasnim Khandakar, and Sahana Rangarajan realized the contests so far had centered only around white celebrities, they promoted the Patel competition on social media, hoping to better represent a leading pop culture figure for the South Asian community, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. But, again, the man of the hour himself didn’t show. Those in attendance seemed to have fun, even if the internet buzz was pretty sparse. But hey, at least the look-alikes got to queen out to Patel’s Slumdog Millionaire dance.
Who won: 25-year-old Jaipreet Hundal’s on-point facial hair and smoldering brown eyes wound up scoring him the top prize.
When: November 16
Where: Humboldt Park, Chicago
Vibe: All right, Chi-town cooked on this one. Roommates Kelsey Cassaro and Taylor Vaske organized the competition around the Shameless and The Bear star, attended by 60 White hopefuls (including one drag king and a 2-year-old) in addition to over a thousand onlookers, Block Club Chicago reported. While White was nowhere to be seen, contestants chain-smoked and sniffed poppers in their stained white T-shirts and blue aprons. And honestly? It looked like a great time. Seems like no one was brave enough to go as Calvin Klein Jeremy, though.
Who won: 37-year-old Ben Shabad, who really does look a good deal like White, was crowned King of the Carmys, nabbing $50 and a pack of Marlboro Reds.
When: November 17
Where: Maria Hernandez Park, Brooklyn
Vibe: We’re losing the plot here. After Bushwick residents Jazmine Arnold and Savannah Neely put up the first fliers for the event, the search for Zayn Malik’s clone morphed into a search for hot guys who barely resembled the former One Direction member. Fans expressed confusion at the results. What happened to sanctity? Does the term “celebrity look-alike contest” mean nothing anymore?
Who won: Shiv Patel, 29, bested the other 12 competitors for the trophy.
When: November 17
Where: Washington Square Park and Central Park
Vibe: Are we done yet? Two more contests occurred over the weekend for DNC sweetheart Jack Schlossberg and another for Jeremy Allen White. Clearly, the fervor has died down, as both events saw a steep drop-off in attendence and not much internet attention.
Who won: The White competition had no winner and was more of a “meetup,” according to Elite Daily writer Mia Sherin. The Schlossberg contest winner (according to one video, his name is Danny) won a $50 Chipotle gift card.
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