The Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest took place in Chicago on November 16, 2024. This event was part of a viral trend that has got fans' hearts beating fast all over the world. Over 50 contestants came together in Humboldt Park, West Side, to compete for the prestigious title of "Best Jeremy Allen White Lookalike."
White's costume from The Bear (a white T-shirt and blue apron) served as the prop for participants in this competition. Competition was stiff, but Ben Shabad, a 37-year-old mental health therapist from Glenview, emerged as the winner.
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Shabad took home a $50 cash prize and a pack of cigarettes. Just to note, it was indicative of the smoking habit of the fictional chef that he was imitating. It was more than just a lookalike contest. It was a celebration of the show at Chicago, which fans love, and over 1,000 people cheering for their favorite lookalikes.
The viral trend that to the Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest
The Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest in Chicago is part of a bigger trend that started with a Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest in New York earlier this year. This craze has now spread to other countries, with events in cities like Dublin, San Francisco, and London.
Each event attracts large crowds and allows the fans to have fun and be creative while celebrating their favorite stars. According to Forbes, on October 27, 2024, a Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest took place and got more special because Chalamet himself appeared! However, there were no permits for the event, and police had to be deployed.
This trend led to similar events, and the Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest was one notable competition in Chicago tied to The Bear series.
As per its organizers (roommates Kelsey Cassaro and Taylor Vaske), they got inspired by other city contests and wanted to put on one that paid homage to White, who has become a symbol of Chicago, especially due to his role as Carmy Berzatto.
"It just felt right," said Cassaro. "We thought of other Chicago icons like Barack Obama and Michael Jordan, but Jeremy felt like a no-brainer."
The contest quickly went viral, with local media such as Block Club Chicago and NBC Chicago covering the event, allowing more Jeremy Allen White lookalikes and fans to gather than could be imagined to fit in the Ritz-Carlton.
Ben Shabad is the winner of the Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest, but how?
Many lookalikes were impressive, but Ben Shabad stood out because he passed many inspection tests. According to Block Club Chicago, contestants were evaluated according to how they would look and if they could perform White's character from The Bear.
Shabad said he was surprised by the large number of people who came.
"I didn't know there would be this much excitement," he said.
This followed after he won the title. The crowd responded positively to his performance, making him popular with fans.
The competition was not just about who won; it was a celebration of The Bear’s influence on Chicago culture. Many participants, such as Michael Dudka, a former fine-dining chef, valued their jobs and the show's link to Chicago’s food scene.
But some contestants went extreme in donning the chef attire, almost similar to what White's character wears in the show. NBC Chicago also said that various versions of White's character were donned during the event, including a toddler wearing the "Baby Jeremy" costume and a drag king version of Carmy.
Who organized and promoted the Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest?
It then grew rapidly from a funny joke between friends to a big viral event due to the smart use of social media. Cassaro and Vaske first made the event flyer for fun and shared it on social media, where it became popular quickly.
As Block Club Chicago recounts, the two of them had not expected more than a few friends to be interested in attending. But, word spread rapidly in the neighborhood, and soon, many local Jeremy Allen White fans became interested.
"We had no idea it would turn into this," said Vaske.
This was as they witnessed the robust support. The competition was a great accolade to White's rising fame and the peculiarity of the Chicagoan culture that made it one of the most talked about competitions of the season.
The Bear (starring the real Jeremy Allen White) is streaming on Hulu.
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