A huge rat in the New York subway didn’t scare anyone.
New York (USA) – A human-sized rat climbs into a subway, looks around and finally makes itself comfortable on one of the seats – a perfectly normal day in New York City.
–
With a rat head, a rat tail, a suit and gloves, Lyons climbs into the New York subway. © Montage: Twitter / Screenshot / therealalisonw
Of course, this wasn’t a real XXL animal, but “Buddy the Rat”, which was created eleven years ago by the performance artist Jonothon Lyons and has been embodied by him ever since.
But his attempts to cheer up people a little and to put a smile on their faces usually fail miserably.
New Yorkers have simply seen way too much by now.
No strange sight of an oversized rat with a gigantic head and meter-long pink tail in the subway can surprise you.
But that’s exactly what Lyons likes: “Most New Yorkers are completely indifferent,” he told the “New York Post“Delighted. Only in the rarest of cases are people happy to see him – a few are also shocked.
But as unimpressed as people react to him, the Internet loves the rat man!
“Oh, New York is dead? Well then, explain that,” wrote Alison Williams on hers Twitter-Accountwhere she shared the hilarious TikTok video of Buddy on the subway. And that went viral quickly.
Within a few hours it was already being viewed by four million people.
–
Lyons itself also has its own TikTok Account, which regularly features new short clips of him as a rat. He always wears a proper suit and gloves.
Especially at times of the corona pandemic, Americans benefit from the costume. As the New York Post reported, Buddy makes social distancing particularly easy for Jonothon Lyons.
“I don’t have to worry that people keep the prescribed safe distance from me,” he said, amused, and added that he was still under the rat head exemplary wearing a normal mouth and nose cover.
–
