It may be a coincidence that the celebrity look-alike competition returned to prominence just as American citizens were voting in what some called “the most significant presidential election in our lifetimes.” But once it happened, the appeal was obvious.
Here was a different kind of democratic event: a totally insignificant one, in which attractive men with slightly off-kilter features were lined up in public and ranked by the roaring crowd.
At the first contest, which convened a flock of Timothée Chalamet doubles in Manhattan last month, the New York Police Department showed up, deemed it an “unscheduled demonstration” and arrested four people.
They are typically publicized with posters on lampposts, staged in public parks and accompanied by meager prizes.
The Mescal double won 20 euro “or three pints”; the White winner received $50 and a pack of Marlboro Reds.
Persons:
Trump, doppelgängers, Jeremy Allen White, Paul Mescal, Dev Patel, Harry Styles
Organizations:
New York Police Department, Marlboro Reds
Locations:
Manhattan, Chicago, Dublin, San Francisco, London