Some publicity stunts in the age of the internet have no rhyme or reason. They are simply odd. Today’s example: a YouTube user named Noah Maloney is eating a full-sized image of How I Met Your Mother actor Jason Segel every day—he’s on day seven—in the hopes that Segel will discover him and return the favor by eating a photo of his face.
Why? Is this bad for his health? Will Segel ever actually do this? Why Segel, specifically?
“He’s a good actor,” Maloney told Vice. “I liked The Muppets. I cannot stress enough that this is not fueled by anything.” As for his health, Maloney remains unconcerned, citing Canada’s subsidized care. “My wellbeing is irrelevant to the situation,” he said.
But meanwhile, he’s committed. His first video, posted Feb. 16, has racked up nearly 600,000 views of him chomping on a headshot in silence, sipping on water to wash down the processed wood pulp. On Day 4, he appears to get a tattoo of the actor’s name on his leg—and then consumes the photo. On Day 7, he made it to Canadian local TV, where the host watched him eat the photo and mentioned that he has a documentary coming out, although nothing further was discussed.
“Hi, Jason,” he says at the end of each video. It’s so far unknown if the stunt has come to Segel’s attention; the actor will next be seen in Netflix sci-fi movie The Discovery with Rooney Mara, which premieres at the end of March.
Scratch your head and consider the many permutations of the YouTube effect as you watch, above.
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