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What does Donald Glover have to do with Brooklyn furries and an evacuated comedy club?
By
Ryan Kailath
and
Precious Fondren
Published Jan 26, 2024
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By
Ryan Kailath
and
Precious Fondren
Published Jan 26, 2024
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These are the facts.
A comedy club said it was evacuated on Wednesday night during a performance by Mark Normand.
The comedian was escorted off the stage after two people approached the microphone in the middle of Normand’s set and asked the crowd to “get up, get out.”
On Tuesday night, two people dressed as furries surrounded Tyra Banks during a Nets game at the Barclays Center.
A week ago, artist Timothy Goodman announced solemnly on TikTok that a pair of shoes he’d designed had been stolen at a launch party.
“The lights went out suddenly,” he said, “and my shoes were stolen.”
The NYPD said it has received no complaints about missing shoes, an evacuated comedy club or furries on the loose.
Although the events don't seem to have anything in common besides causing disruption in public places, they all appear to be linked to a group called HiHi, and were all shared on actor Donald Glover's social media accounts.
Normand took to Instagram to state: “No one was injured or harmed during my performance…the disruption was part of a planned ‘surprise’ activity by show producers, HiHi.”
He called his statement “the good ole corporate statement from my publicist.”
But who or what is HiHi?
And why was Donald Glover sharing clips from their Instagram on his social media accounts?
A group by the name of HiHi did not respond to direct messages to its Instagram account.
But a Los Angeles-based marketing company called Verb appears to have posted a call for submissions to a “HiHi Mission Contest” in December, in which winning participants would be selected to carry out various “missions” taking place at a “culture event in New York City,” according to a search of an image shared on X.
Winners who completed the mission would be rewarded with prizes including shopping trips, spa and dining experiences, and helicopter rides.
Amazon employees and affiliates were not eligible to participate, according to the callout.
Amazon’s streaming division is the producer of a new show, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” which stars actors Donald Glover and Maya Erskine.
In the movie, they partner up in an effort they call “HiHi” according to a recent Vanity Fair profile.
Emails and calls to Verb and Donald Glover’s agent and manager were not returned.
The New York Comedy Club did not respond to a request for comment.
On X, the site formerly known as Twitter, the club posted a statement about the events on Wednesday.
“First and foremost, nobody was harmed or injured,” it said. "The disruption was part of a filming by @Hi_Hi, the producers that rented out our venue for the night. So, since this took on a bit of a wild narrative, if you were in attendance for this taping, we’d love to host you for an ACTUAL show for FREE.”
Taccara and Yinka Lawanson — married content creators who are known as LingandLamb on social media platforms, including TikTok — were in the audience.
They said they’d been invited to the show about a week before by their agency, Outshine Talent. Since Yinka had never been to a comedy show before, they thought it was the perfect time.
The Lawansons said that nothing seemed out of the ordinary when they arrived and were seated.
“We were informed that it was a taping,” Taccara said. “They brought us in as VIP guests and they sat us down.”
But the Lawansons said they began feeling different emotions as the incident unfolded.
“Personally my first instinct is to get out of here,” said Yinka. “And my wife's first instinct is 'what is going on? I want to find out more.’”
“I'm a curious person, I'm not gonna lie,” added his wife, Taccara. “I was like, wait, I wanna see what's happening.”
Taccara said some people began running out of the theater, and that was when someone who appeared to be the producer said, “No, no, no. There's no danger, but we just need you guys to leave, walk, take your time."
Taccara described the night as a “letdown.”
“I won't say we're furious," she said. "Thankfully no one was hurt or injured. I think we're just more like, OK, definitely disappointed. And no, we're not interested in going back for another show.”
Using stunts or social media to promote a product is nothing new, said Karen North, a professor who teaches classes on digital social media at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School.
She said the event appeared to be a stunt, but that she didn't know if it was a marketing ploy.
“When deciding to pursue a stunt, whether you're a PR agency, a marketing firm, an advertising company, or just individuals trying to figure out what to do themselves to get attention, everybody should sit back and remember don't harm other people in trying to get attention for whatever it is that you're promoting,” she said.
“Don't underestimate the impact of a stunt like this on encouraging other people in the future to pursue additional stunts,” North added. “It's your responsibility to think about the persuasive value of what you're doing and whether or not you're encouraging other people to engage in bad behavior.”
Additional reporting by Catalina Gonella and Brittany Kriegstein.
Tagged
comedy
brooklyn
entertainment
social media
events
Ryan Kailath
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Precious Fondren
Precious is a former WNYC & Gothamist culture reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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