A man inside Chicago's Bean? Viral hoax floods politician with calls.
"I appreciate lighthearted parody as much as the next guy," Chicago Alderman Brendan Riley said in a statement. "However, this online hoax has led to a heavy uptick in calls to my office."
Have you heard about the man inside The Bean?
A small group of protestors have gone viral over the past week for claiming there is a man living inside of Chicago's Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park, commonly known as "The Bean."
Sporting all-black outfits and wielding homemade cardboard signs, the group has been handing out flyers and encouraging the public to contact Chicago Alderman Brendan Riley to "free" the man inside the sculpture. The protests began during Lollapalooza, which ran July 31 through Aug. 3.
"There is a man inside The Bean," one of the protesters said in a video that has garnered thousands of views on social media. "We're calling for his immediate release. In 2004, Anish Kapoor, the chief architect of The Bean, stole a baby and put that baby inside The Bean. We are calling for the immediate release of the man trapped inside The Bean, so please, spread the good word."
In a statement provided to Paste BN, Riley said the "online hoax" has led to an influx of calls, proving to be a "distraction for my office from the real work we do for the 42nd Ward and City of Chicago each day."
An Instagram account dedicated to the viral protest, Man in Bean, had garnered more than 23,600 followers as of Tuesday, Aug. 5. The Man in Bean team did not immediately respond for comment on the protests when contacted by Paste BN via Instagram on Aug. 5.
Designed by Kapoor, Cloud Gate was constructed between 2004 and 2006. The sculpture was made using computer technology to cut 168 stainless steel plates, which were then pieced together, like a puzzle, on-site, according to the Millennium Park Foundation. The massive sculpture is 33 feet high and weighs about 110 tons.
What are Chicago officials saying?
While Riley said the lighthearted protest has resulted in a strain on his office, he also provided a tongue-in-cheek response.
"I am happy to confirm that a man has not been trapped inside Cloud Gate (a.k.a 'the Bean') for the past 21 years," he said. "In fact, the man was freed years ago. Further, we can neither confirm nor deny that Soldier Field is actually a flying saucer secretly relocated from Area 51 back in 2003."
Is there really a man inside The Bean?
Despite the ongoing protests, there is no evidence that a man lives inside The Bean.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at Paste BN. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.