Internet Culture

Videos of a human ‘pizza rat’ go viral

This performance artist is making the most of the pandemic in NYC.

Photo of Cecilia Lenzen

Cecilia Lenzen

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A human dressed as a rat in a suit has been traversing New York City’s subways while dragging an oversized piece of pizza.

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Performance artist Jonothon Lyons is the man in the rat suit, and he posts videos of his stunts for his thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHs2S4RDAXL/

Based on the comments, viewers have had mostly positive reactions to the unusual character. “Only in New York City” was a common sentiment, although one Instagram user commented, “come to London, we need this.” 

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Another user commented, “I don’t think people in New York are alive enough on the inside to care.”

By all appearances, the people in New York really don’t care. Videos show them barely even blinking at the human rat; most of them just steer clear and mind their own businesses. 

“Most New Yorkers are totally indifferent,” Lyons told the New York Post.

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Lyons also told the Post that he created his character, “Buddy the Rat,” 11 years ago and only recently brought him back for a short film. The character seems to have taken off on social media.

The recent videos of Lyons and the giant pizza appear to pay homage to the famous “pizza rat” that went viral in 2015. The rat became famous for dragging a slice of pizza down the stairs to a subway.

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The Daily Dot