timmy holding heart hands
(Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

The Timothée Chalamet look-a-like contest in NY is as chaotic as you’d expect

Today in New York City, a sea of fans of actor Timothée Chalamet met at Washington Square park for a viral contest. That contest? A look-a-like contest of the actor. If you win, you get $50. People flew in for this.

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There are just some cultural moments that you can’t really explain. They just happen and we all are tuned in to see what in the world is going on. That’s what is happening with this very silly contest that is…well, frankly a chaotic mess in the best way.

It started simply as a flyer on the streets of New York and went viral online with people deciding that they needed to partake in the contest. But as with every good viral moment, it is as chaotic as you’d expect. The organizers did not account for crowd control and there were…suddenly a lot of people at Washington Square park. Currently, you can watch the event on the Associated Press live stream of it.

The chaos started when way too many people showed up at the first location and then the organizer had to move to a second location to have the contest. It didn’t mean that the crowd at the first location separated though. Still, this is an important day.

As someone pointed out in the crowd (via Vulture reporting live from the scene), this is the “biggest day of their life” for some of the contestants.

EVEN ACTUAL Timothée Chalamet showed up.

There does not seem to be a rhyme or reason to the contest itself. According to Vulture, a man named Gilbert in a top hat was instructing everyone where to go and asked them all to go to a second location.

The moment Timothée Chalamet appeared was a very sweet interaction between two Timmys.

Does Timothée Chalamet win the contest by default?

Chalamet appeared at the first location in Washington Square Park. Reports have not come in on whether or not he appeared at the contest at the second location. But does his appearance at the event then result in him winning the $50 prize? Does Chalamet need the money? Who actually wins if we are split between two different groups? I have so many questions about the logistics of the look-a-like contest.

This entire event does really highlight the power of a viral moment. All that happened was someone posted a flyer, it went around on social media, and the rest is history. People flew to New York to partake in this event. All you could win was $50. It wasn’t a life changing moment but it is now a cultural thing we’re going to have to explain for the rest of time.

Will you remember where you were when cops had to shut down the Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest? Were you aware that one of the Timmys got arrested with zip-ties after fighting with the NYPD? All of this is now part of our history as Chalamet fans. We will never forget the Washington Square Park to a second location contest.


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Rachel Leishman
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.