WHAT IN THE NAME OF SCOOBY DOO IS THIS SHIT

August 21, 2018 5:19 PM

Guy meets lady on Tinder; they chat and exchange details. A few weeks later, she texts him, asking him out on a date the following day, and suggesting that they meet in front of a stage in Union Square, Manhattan, where a friend of hers is DJing. He shows up, hanging off to the side; and then the DJ stops and she walks on stage and addresses the hundred-strong, predominantly male crowd (SLTwitterThread)
posted by acb (92 comments total)

I desperately want independent verification.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:32 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]

So, according to the newspaper article linked in the Twitter feed, she also “dismissed” men with beer bellies, long beards, khakis, Tom’s shoes, and men named Jimmy, before she explained what it was all about.

Christ, what an asshole.
posted by darkstar at 5:33 PM on August 21, 2018 [21 favorites]

I desperately want independent verification.

Here you go (from the thread):

https://twitter.com/RealDJBJ/status/1031779874741080064
posted by The Minotaur at 5:34 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]

HOLY SHIT I FOUND THE INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION (literally, by sheer coincidence).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:35 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]

Rarely have I been so happy to be far too old for shit like this to happen to me.
posted by delfin at 5:35 PM on August 21, 2018 [59 favorites]

OMG. This crap makes me glad I am not in the dating world at the moment.
posted by rpfields at 5:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

I'm glad he left. Why did this woman see fit to put more insecurity/distrust/desperation into the world?

At least (I'm betting) this dude is going to get a date or two out of that Twitter thread. I'm not single, but "WHAT THINE FUCKETH IS GOING ON" charmed the heck out of me.
posted by queensissy at 5:38 PM on August 21, 2018 [16 favorites]

So done. Glad I had a good time and took some chances when I was younger. Wish I'd been a little braver with women but truly I have no regrets and if I never find another partner I'm just fine solo. Open to it but not hunting.
posted by VictorianSquid at 5:40 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

OH HOORAY IT'S A MARKETING STUNT. Even worse.
posted by queensissy at 5:41 PM on August 21, 2018 [37 favorites]

The fishiest part of this is "17th Ave" by Union Sq. in Manhattan.
posted by exogenous at 5:42 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

That is just bizarre.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:43 PM on August 21, 2018

OH HOORAY IT'S A MARKETING STUNT.

In a sense, isn't all dating?
posted by acb at 5:44 PM on August 21, 2018 [13 favorites]

If nobody sues her then this is not America.
posted by srboisvert at 5:48 PM on August 21, 2018 [9 favorites]

she might have failed to qualify for the Bachelor/Bachelorette and decided to hold her own. it's kind of impressive.
posted by numaner at 6:01 PM on August 21, 2018 [5 favorites]

All y'all saying that you're glad that you don't have to deal with dating anymore are making this still-single-and-looking lady kind of grumpy....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [28 favorites]

This is not how dating works.

That said, this is how it feels like dating works.
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 6:04 PM on August 21, 2018 [42 favorites]

I saw this yesterday and I actually kind of love it—someone on twitter referred to the woman’s “fallopian fortitude”—but I do feel bad for the dudes roped in.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:08 PM on August 21, 2018 [4 favorites]

The fishiest part of this is "17th Ave" by Union Sq. in Manhattan.

Eh? 17th is the north boundary of Union Square, it's where the Greenmarket happens and where most events at the park tend to happen. There is indeed a little open lot right there that often has the randomest events: DJ sets, yoga/zumba classes, weird promotions by various countries' tourism boards... all kinds of stuff happens in that little corner by 17th. Unless you mean the fact he said 'ave' and not 'st' but I think the guy's from Brooklyn and there are a lot of aves in bklyn.
posted by halation at 6:08 PM on August 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

As far as I can see the only thing she missed doing was asking them to join her MLM network but that'll be enough to keep her from getting a perfect score.
posted by Nerd of the North at 6:16 PM on August 21, 2018 [22 favorites]

Unless you mean the fact he said 'ave' and not 'st'

That's a pretty damn big mistake to make in Manhattan.
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:30 PM on August 21, 2018 [12 favorites]

Hilarious that it happened to them, glad it wasn't me.
posted by rhizome at 6:44 PM on August 21, 2018

I thought this was going more in a performance art direction and less in a reality TV direction. I think I'll choose to remember it as the former.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 6:45 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]

I desperately want independent verification.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:32 PM on August 21
[2 favorites +] [!]


I was there. As one of the dudes. Everything in the guy's Twitter thread is correct. It was very much scripted and I had very similar conversations.

she also “dismissed” men with beer bellies, long beards, khakis, Tom’s shoes, and men named Jimmy, before she explained what it was all about.

She took the stage and said all of us were from dating apps. She said she would start a competition to find a winner to date her. A real life Tinder, if you will, where she "swipes" certain men to continue or drop out.

This story began when we matched with her. As the thread says, she gives us her number and says she's working on a big marketing project for the next few weeks. A few weeks later she says she's free and to meet at Union Square where her friend is DJing a free concert, then we can go get drinks or whatever.

I left after hearing the first couple "weed-outs" like telling all the guys named Jimmy to leave. It was utterly shocking. Lots of us were standing there thinking, what the fuck.

In retrospect I regret not just gathering some of the other dudes on the scene and going to get drinks.

She is one of those Instagram models/self-employed people so it makes sense she'd try to pull a publicity stunt like this.

The free electronic music beforehand was legitimately good though...
posted by hexaflexagon at 6:55 PM on August 21, 2018 [212 favorites]

Not sure how I feel about this “I know it’s weird but go with it; at the very least it will make a great story” logic. To me, the essence of a great story is a protagonist unwittingly walking into a strange/uncomfortable situation, suffering through it, and realizing the amusing angle *after* the fact. When the decision-making process starts involving “how will this make me look on social media?” it seems so... disingenuous or something. People acting in their own micro-plays that they broadcast for likes and Influencer status. Actions based more on what followers want to see than on what the “protagonist” actually wants to do. You could get to wondering, “is this person interacting with me because they are genuinely engaged and in-the-moment, or because they are trying to collect a story for their social media?”

Maybe this has been going on since long before social media, but the story-sharing medium has changed to something a bit more public? Or maybe it’s a Gen Z thing I just don’t get because it wasn’t part of my reality growing up?

Does anyone else have a perspective on this or a clearer way to articulate it?
posted by mantecol at 7:00 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]

I am torn between thinking that this is utterly brilliant as it just exemplifies the stupidity and nearly-arbitrary judging that goes on with online dating and thinking that it is really a shitty thing to do. Which is actually more evidence of its brilliance. Not fun to experience though.
posted by Athanassiel at 7:01 PM on August 21, 2018 [7 favorites]

I believe I've told this on the blue before, but it's worth a repeat. Back in the early nineties, when I was living and working in Brooklyn, I wanted out of the shared apartment situation that I was in, and answered an ad (probably in the Village Voice) for a group of roommates that had a room to let. They wanted a chance to meet prospective roommates, so, feeling a bit nervous about being interviewed by a group but game for new experiences, I went to the apartment. Where I met not only the roommates, but every other person who responded to the ad. Profound awkwardness ensued; we all really wanted the room (it was a nice apartment--it was in Park Slope (back when an entry-level librarian could afford to live there if they split an apartment), and it was on a named street rather than a numbered street, if you understand the difference), but they were assessing us for compatibility. Also, they were all artists, or at least aspiring artists, and apparently were looking for someone with a creative groove; I had taken a storytelling class in library school and also had a couple of years in the Russian folk music orchestra on campus. I gutted it out for half an hour and left, commiserating with another ambushee on the way out. It wasn't the worst roommate I had in NYC (that would have been the situation that I was escaping, with one of the roommates having the looks of Lee Harvey Oswald and the mannerisms of Patrick Bateman), but sheesh.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:01 PM on August 21, 2018 [15 favorites]

Oh Bliss
posted by unliteral at 7:05 PM on August 21, 2018

Previously
posted by unliteral at 7:06 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

I mean, there’s a whole very popular show called The Bachelor which, as best as I can tell, is pretty much this. Am I wrong?
posted by amanda at 7:30 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]

"weed-outs" like telling all the guys named Jimmy to leave. It was utterly shocking. Lots of us were standing there thinking, what the fuck.

I dunno, I know I've been dismissed by men for things at least as arbitrary. Different circumstances, but...eh. Set against centuries of No Fat Chicks, "butterfaces," wet T-shirt contests, and harassment, it doesn't really seem that outrageous.
posted by Miko at 7:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [58 favorites]

Previously
posted by unliteral at 10:06 PM

I’m a little dismayed to learn that video was... well, not orchestrated so much as promoted by a marketing firm. That was an eye-opening discussion a few years ago for those of us who live in tall, strong(ish), white male bodies (privilege incarnate, in other words) and now it feels a bit tainted by the calculated viral marketing involved.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:48 PM on August 21, 2018

I mean, there’s a whole very popular show called The Bachelor which, as best as I can tell, is pretty much this. Am I wrong?

The difference is consent - when you sign up for The Bachelor, you know what you're going to be doing. Here, 100 people were lied to and ambushed with it. That's a big difference.
posted by LSK at 7:49 PM on August 21, 2018 [38 favorites]

Set against centuries of No Fat Chicks, "butterfaces," wet T-shirt contests, and harassment, it doesn't really seem that outrageous.

Tu quoque. The world needs less of this type of BS, not more on all sides.
posted by axiom at 7:58 PM on August 21, 2018 [43 favorites]

Where I met not only the roommates, but every other person who responded to the ad.

Same thing happened to me once. The lessor greeted us all by crowing, "Let the games begIn!"
posted by Iridic at 7:59 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]

And, to think, all it took was a lot of bald-faced lying to set this up!
posted by tobascodagama at 8:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [8 favorites]

The world needs less of this type of BS, not more on all sides.

Sure. Still, I think I will cry injustice about other things today.
posted by Miko at 8:16 PM on August 21, 2018 [28 favorites]

I am torn between thinking that this is utterly brilliant as it just exemplifies the stupidity and nearly-arbitrary judging that goes on with online dating and thinking that it is really a shitty thing to do.

I find myself back in the dating world after having left it in 2001.

All dating is arbitrary judging. The information you need at the start of the relationship isn't there until the conclusion. At best you're guessing. Educated guessing, maybe, but still guessing.

I mean - I never would have thought my wife would cheat on me, but here we are. [you_chose_poorly.gif]

I'm sort of hoping I'm better at guessing this time around. Odds are good that the goods are odd, however.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:30 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

I've been looking for a feminine replacement for "big dick energy" and I think this guy found it - "fallopian fortitude" may be my next user name.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:36 PM on August 21, 2018 [24 favorites]

This seems like the kind of thing that feels awesome and subversive when you're planning it with your art school/performance artist friends at 2 in the morning after a bad date, but will turn out to be a horribly bad idea after the dickheads on the internet get ahold of your personal information and start harassing you in real life.
posted by madajb at 9:31 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]

I wonder if this is a side effect from the closure of Craigslist Personals, because this probably would have been considered kind of a normal post over there.
posted by FJT at 10:02 PM on August 21, 2018 [6 favorites]

The dating sites I'm on have gotten noticeably worse in various ways since CL personals was closed.
posted by rhizome at 11:24 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]

All dating is arbitrary judging. The information you need at the start of the relationship isn't there until the conclusion. At best you're guessing. Educated guessing, maybe, but still guessing.

OK, but there are way too many red flags for me to want to engage with this kind of viral stunt, or go on a date with someone who does this. It's not even that funny. It strikes me as a missed opportunity to do something really interesting or even brilliant. Looks like a lot of effort to create an event that didn't end up being as compelling as the scheming leading up to it.
posted by krinklyfig at 11:43 PM on August 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

I’m anticipating the Twitter feed from the guy she eventually chose out of this mess.

In my mind, he breaks up with her a month later, after finally coming to grips with the fact that, yes, she really is a shallow, manipulative narcissist.

He then goes on to win on Jeopardy.
posted by darkstar at 12:15 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]

Guys, I'm starting to think our society sucks.
posted by bongo_x at 12:38 AM on August 22, 2018 [24 favorites]

This is so intensely depressing. In the 19th century, a thing like this would at least have been fascinating—the woman would have had to be a con artist and daring personality on a par with Becky Sharp. Now, of course, there’s a marketing firm behind it.
posted by Aravis76 at 12:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]

Yeah, but we got to meet this guy, who's damn funny. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF SCOOBY DOO IS THIS SHIT" now lives in my mental file of useful phrases for daily shittery. And his "fallopian fortitude" got retweeted by thesaurus.com. Nerd fame is the best fame!

Also he retweeted this:

honeydew melons are a goddamn SCAM. Get the FUCK out of my $6 fruit salad you FLAVORLESS morsel of DISAPPOINTMENT.

So true.

Anyway. Following.
posted by taz at 1:08 AM on August 22, 2018 [35 favorites]

That's revenge in the age of social media - to punish someone, steal all their attention.
posted by Grangousier at 1:27 AM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]

so, maybe an update to that famous atwood quote: men are afraid women will turn out to actually be recruiting them for a viral marketing campaign
posted by mosswinter at 3:02 AM on August 22, 2018 [25 favorites]

What a shitty thing to do. I wish everyone had just left, en masse. There's nothing subversive or clever about it, it's just one woman's stroking of her own ego.
posted by stillnocturnal at 3:22 AM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]

Not even a Scooby snack for his troubles, how disappointing.
posted by arcticseal at 3:59 AM on August 22, 2018

honeydew melons are a goddamn SCAM. Get the FUCK out of my $6 fruit salad you FLAVORLESS morsel of DISAPPOINTMENT.

Bojack, is that you ?
posted by Pendragon at 4:21 AM on August 22, 2018 [6 favorites]

this has been going on since long before social media, but the story-sharing medium has changed to something a bit more public

Lowered production cost / time means anyone can host their own reality TV show.

First they stopped paying the actors, and I said nothing because I wasn t an actor. Then they stopped paying the sound guys....
posted by eustatic at 4:38 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]

The dating sites I'm on have gotten noticeably worse in various ways since CL personals was closed.
posted by rhizome at 11:24

I was discussing this with friends, and it came up that different methods of communication come with different expectations, and that extends to companies a la, okcupid Vs match.com Vs grindr.

So in a more sane world where companies had ethics, there would be employees or policies to either shut this down or encourage it
posted by eustatic at 4:47 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

That's a pretty damn big mistake to make in Manhattan.

Eh, I once had someone stop me on Broadway and Waverly to ask me if they were in Brooklyn, so...
posted by Automocar at 6:37 AM on August 22, 2018

What a horrible manipulative thing to do for money.

The Scooby Doo line kills, though.
posted by theora55 at 6:42 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

That's a pretty damn big mistake to make in Manhattan.

.....Has no one in this thread ever simply mis-spoke?

Eh, I once had someone stop me on Broadway and Waverly to ask me if they were in Brooklyn, so...

I once had a couple stop me for directions while I was wandering around the East Village; they asked me for directions to Cannery Row. I was so shocked I couldn't speak, and they just sneered at me for not knowing what they were referring to ("it's a really popular thing, I'm surprised you haven't heard of it") and walked away. I still wish I'd had the presence of mind for a suitably New York wise-ass comeback ("Okay, you're gonna want to walk two blocks that way to Houston Street, take a left, and then head west for about 3,000 miles").
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:20 AM on August 22, 2018 [21 favorites]

I live there and am single and on Tinder. There but for the grace of Awkwardius, the god of coffee dates, go I.
posted by UltraMorgnus at 7:32 AM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]

The free electronic music beforehand was legitimately good though...

This is the only part of the story that I have a hard time believing.
posted by East14thTaco at 7:45 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]

Unless you mean the fact he said 'ave' and not 'st'

That's a pretty damn big mistake to make in Manhattan.
posted by showbiz_liz

Yeah. If you're headed for 17th Ave in Manhattan better be packing scuba gear.
posted by Splunge at 7:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

Well thats just a shitty thing to do to somebody(many somebodies apparently), and just because women have been enduring this kind of crap forever, doesn't make it any less shitty when it happens to someone of another gender.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 7:59 AM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]

I mean, there’s a whole very popular show called The Bachelor which, as best as I can tell, is pretty much this. Am I wrong?

That's the thing. I'm sure every guy that stayed did so more in the spirit of, "Hey I'm on TV!" than "Wow, I want to be the guy that gets to date this woman." And presumably a lot of people think that's fun. Too bad she had to dupe a whole bunch of dudes who did not want to sign up for an impromptu Social Media Bachelor Contest in order to find the ones who did.
posted by straight at 8:09 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

She wanted a real man, so she kicked out the Jimmies? Yes!
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:16 AM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

I'm squarely on Team Shitty and Reprehensible.
posted by drlith at 9:56 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

If she didn’t want guys called Jimmy or with long beards, why did she invite them to begin with?
posted by Segundus at 9:57 AM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]

To inflate her numbers and to have a dramatic nonsensical elimination right off the top.
posted by Mitheral at 10:03 AM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]

Could maybe we drop the whole "ave. vs. Street" thing because the dude most likely just had a brain fart and said "Avenue" when he meant "Street", he's human, that kind of thing happens, seriously.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:08 AM on August 22, 2018 [15 favorites]

I don't understand why they weren't booing her off the stage and throwing shit. I would be livid if somebody pulled that shit on me. of course, I would never, ever, be on Tinder in the first place.
posted by Megafly at 10:43 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

I hope she gets all the attention she wanted, plus more, then more on top of that. I hope the terrible eye of the internet focuses on her and doesn't blink.
posted by dephlogisticated at 10:51 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

I hope she gets all the attention she wanted, plus more, then more on top of that. I hope the terrible eye of the internet focuses on her and doesn't blink.

I think it was a shitty thing to do but I would never a million years wish her unceasing rape threats, death threats, doxxing, and stalking.
posted by treepour at 11:05 AM on August 22, 2018 [64 favorites]

Sure, let's go with "but she was asking for it." That's definitely not a viewpoint with a long and horrible history of blaming women for misogynistic violence.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:13 AM on August 22, 2018 [17 favorites]

That came out harsher than intended, and no, for the record, I am definitely not advocating for her to be stalked or harassed. But internet fame is a terrible thing, doubly so if it’s achieved through blatantly antisocial behavior. It’s kind of the modern day equivalent of tempting the wrath of the gods via hubris. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone who doesn’t seek it. For those who do, I can only hope they’ll end up serving as a cautionary tale to others.
posted by dephlogisticated at 11:55 AM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

Having been married for ten years this is like a scenario from an alternate universe, but I gotta say I hope I would have stayed and played. No one was cheated out of any money and only a nominal amount of time, right? Gotta go with a golf clap for fallopian fortitude (both the woman and the phrase). Too bad it didn't end in a trivia competition. Still would have been better than the date with the woman who wanted me to join the cult she was in. Soooooo glad to be married.
posted by BeeDo at 12:03 PM on August 22, 2018

Just a reminder that coming into a thread about the horrors of online dating with "I'm married thank god lolol" type comments is pretty rude and people on this site have repeatedly asked people to stop doing it!
posted by a fiendish thingy at 12:40 PM on August 22, 2018 [18 favorites]

This was a mean thing to do.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:31 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]

Narcissists gonna narciss.
posted by rhizome at 2:14 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

needs WHAT THINE FUCKETH tag
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:38 PM on August 22, 2018 [5 favorites]

From the Independent article on this that was linked above:

But it appears Natasha was not the only one to blame. Reached by The Independent for comment, the actress directed all requests to Rob Bliss Creative – a self-described “viral marketing company” that specialises in viral video campaigns.

According to the company’s website, they have worked with companies like Procter & Gamble, Amtrak, and Motorola, and were responsible for a controversial 2014 video about cat-calling in New York. The actress in that video told the Village Voice she landed the role through a casting call, and was paid $200 for her time. She later sued Mr Bliss for use of her likeness, but the suit was dismissed.

Mr Bliss declined to comment for this article, saying all relevant information would be released on Thursday.

Maybe we could lay off the personal insults against the woman who was paid to be in this stunt by a little bit? It would perhaps be reasonable to suggest that she has poor ethical judgement in her choice of gigs. But accusing her of of being narcissistic and manipulative seems like it may be going a bit far based on currently available evidence. Like, were the initial contacts even actually from her, or were they from other employees of the marketing firm? If she sued over use of her likeness, that indicates that she was not involved in those pre-date steps (though probably her contract included language allowing the company use of her likeness for such purposes, thus the failure of her suit).
posted by eviemath at 2:55 PM on August 22, 2018 [12 favorites]

Metafilter: This 👏 is 👏 not 👏 a 👏 dating 👏 site. 👏
posted by randomkeystrike at 3:09 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

My long beard is the only reason I have a girlfriend.
posted by East14thTaco at 3:33 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

My long beard is the only reason I have a girlfriend.

My long beard is my girlfriend.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 3:41 PM on August 22, 2018 [7 favorites]

Like, were the initial contacts even actually from her, or were they from other employees of the marketing firm?

If the initial contacts were not from her, that is catfishing and/or false representation ... (What a great foundation to begin a relationship, right?)

Yes, I think an insult or two is warranted - she agreed - possibly even planned this entire event to further her career.

No one employs a "viral marketing company" to find a legitimate relationship or life partner.

However... the whole event was well structured to find her a partner who is truly compatible with her - someone who would accept this type of behavior, ethics and career choices from her in the future.

Those "lucky" few souls who remained through the entire reaping process will probably be a perfect match...
...and then they would really "deserve" each other...
posted by jkaczor at 4:29 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

If she didn’t want guys called Jimmy or with long beards, why did she invite them to begin with?

Since it's a marketing stunt, most likely she herself, like eviemath said, didn't even see all the guys at the first step. There was probably a team swiping right on anyone attractive enough and then playing out the same script we saw in the twitter thread. And then on the day of she or the coordinator was like "let's eliminate all the jimmys lol".

I'm less impressed now that I've learned it's a marketing stunt. Her fallopian fortitude is just a front and this is all just terrible. But I'm glad it lead to that phrase.

Also, I was double-checking and @bvdhai mentioned she had 3K followers in instagram on the 19th, and now she has over 6K, so at least it's working out for her.
posted by numaner at 4:29 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]

Yes, I think an insult or two is warranted - she agreed - possibly even planned this entire event to further her career.

No one employs a "viral marketing company" to find a legitimate relationship or life partner.

See, that's the thing. She didn't hire the viral marketing firm. She was hired by the viral marketing firm. It doesn't sound like this was planned either to find Natasha a relationship or to further her career. It doesn't sound like the planning of it had anything to do with her, or with her specifically, at all. It doesn't sound like she was involved in any way except being a hired actress for the day-of "date" event.

How is it that we so easily jump to the "woman is conniving, scheming, evil" explanation?

Rhetorical question. I know why that happens. [insert eyeroll emoji]
posted by eviemath at 4:38 PM on August 22, 2018 [13 favorites]

How is it that we so easily jump to the "woman is conniving, scheming, evil" explanation?

Well - what if it was a guy who did this? Would that be ok? [insert eyeroll emoji... rhetorical question, because of course it would be wrong if a man did this... see... it's wrong if ANYONE does this]

It doesn't sound like this was planned either to find Natasha a relationship or to further her career.

Well - if she is an actress, then yes - she did it for her career - she made a buck or two and got some publicity.

So - yes, I will happily insult marketing stunts, performance art, advertisers, corporate apologists, media manipulators and basically ALL the people involved in those games that toy with the human condition.

And - if someone works in that space, then... That is both a personal and professional choice - if the insults are personal, perhaps it is because the "event" was also personal?

Who in their right mind would be happy to be tricked into performing for a corporation, when they were expecting a legitimate date?

Everyone who organized and participated in that event is at fault and deserves insults - but, Natasha was probably just an underpaid victim of her dominating male employer.
posted by jkaczor at 5:01 PM on August 22, 2018 [4 favorites]

Well - what if it was a guy who did this? Would that be ok?

And yet everything in your original comment--who deserves to be insulted, who is damaged goods who "deserves" to be partnered with someone horrible, conspiracy-minded mutterings about her career, pretty much all the blame for what happened--is aimed solely at her.
posted by zombieflanders at 5:33 PM on August 22, 2018 [8 favorites]

If she sued over use of her likeness, that indicates that she was not involved in those pre-date steps (though probably her contract included language allowing the company use of her likeness for such purposes, thus the failure of her suit).

I think that's a misreading. The woman in the 2014 video is the one who sued, not this recent woman.

Well - what if it was a guy who did this

Then we would just call it "spring break."

But seriously, that's whatabouting.
posted by Miko at 6:13 PM on August 22, 2018 [11 favorites]

I was coming back to point out the same thing Miko just did. The woman who got paid and was suing was a different woman on a different stunt in 2014. Its not clear if Natasha hired the marketing firm or the other way around, so I agree, maybe we dont judge her yet, but someone thought this up, and whoever it was is a straight out asshole.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 6:32 PM on August 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

Ah, I misread that.

But still, Occam's Razor suggests that it's highly unlikely that the purpose of the stunt was to obtain a date or a relationship for the woman in question ... 'cause it merely managed to winnow around 1000 dates and potential relationships down to maybe one, occurring in a context that any reasonable person could tell you was highly unlikely to lead to a romantic relationship.

So it's a marketing stunt for something. Which will apparently be announced on Thursday. By a company that previously hired an actress to be the face of a video for a similarly obscured viral marketing campaign, so if this one follows a similar pattern, it is more likely that the woman involved is a paid actor than a co-conspirator or someone who hired the firm to promote her Instagram or something (though that is still a possibility).
posted by eviemath at 7:13 PM on August 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

So it's a marketing stunt for something. Which will apparently be announced on Thursday.

my money's on a dating app. and i would be very surprised if Natasha wasn't a paid actor in this whole scenario -- and whether she did this as Art or as a stunt to boost her IG followers or as a gig i still think she's an asshole in her own right, along with everyone else willingly involved in this production.
posted by halation at 7:37 PM on August 22, 2018 [3 favorites]

And then on the day of she or the coordinator was like "let's eliminate all the jimmys lol."

JIMMIES. ELIMINATED.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:20 AM on August 23, 2018

Using the guideline from the NYT as 7 avenues per mile, and Google Maps's handy right-click "Measure Distance" tool, a "17th ave" near union square would actually be just on top of Vito's Deli in Hoboken. Nice.

My older brother began his meteoric rise into the 1% living in a shitbox apartment in Hoboken. I skipped school and fled the midwest to go hang out with him when I was yet a wayward teen.
I was exposed to urban cultural excess that completely overwhelmed the capacities of my unripened mango of a brain.
Nevertheless, the following morning (afternoon?) he bought me a sandwich at Vito's Deli.
We sat on a curb and he said, through the glinty frown of a terrifying hangover - "that is going to be the best sandwich you've ever eaten."
And it was, it was.
I finished and tapped a cigarette out and put it to my lips and he said, "That, that right there is going to be the best cigarette you will will ever smoke in your life."
And it was.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 9:56 AM on August 23, 2018 [5 favorites]

If it was a stunt, to show how bad Tinder is or something, then it's in very bad taste.

You don't showcase the cruelty of a system by using it to be cruel to more people -- people who have not been asked to participate in your cruelty -- and then say "See how cruel it is!" and then pat yourself on the back for being woke.

The actress AND anyone staging/planning the event are both at fault. If it's a marketing stunt for a film project, then they're terrible people hiding behind a thin veneer of social justice, which makes the cruelty even more of an affront.
posted by darkstar at 10:39 AM on August 24, 2018