Overview
Drunk Girl in Public is a hoax video which was presented as a social experiment by creators Stephen Zhang and Seth Leach.
Background
On November 8th, 2014, the Video Productions YouTube channel uploaded a video titled “Drunk Girl in Public (Social Experiment)”, in which a woman acting intoxicated is approached by several men who attempt to take her to their homes (shown below). In the first week, the video gained over 9.19 million views.
Notable Developments
News Media Coverage
Initially, the video was highlighted on several websites as an authentic social experiment. On November 10th, the men’s interest blog Total Frat Move posted the video, adding that the men’s behavior in the video was predictable. On the following day, the news blog Salon[2] highlighted the video in an article titled “Woman pretends to be drunk and asks for help, is approached by gross men being gross.” In the coming days, additional news sites reblogged the video, including The Daily Mail,[3] New York Mag[4] and Jezebel.[5]
Hoax Revealed
On November 12th, the news blog The Smoking Gun[1] published an article “‘Drunk Girl’ Video is Latest Viral Hoax,” which reported Video Productions hired 24-year-old actress Jennifer Box and several men to appear in the video, telling them it was a “student film” and a “funny skit.” The article also linked to a screenshot of a Facebook message from Leach, who urged one of the male actors to “just go with it,” reassuring that his team would “take care” of him.
Search Interest
External References
[1]The Smoking Gun – Drunk Girl Video is Latest Viral Hoax
[2]Salon – Woman pretends to be drunk and asks for help
[3]The Daily Mail – Actress records shocking video showing men taking advantage of her
[4]New York Mag – Girl Pretends to be Drunk in Public
[5]Jezebel – Fake Drunk Girl Finds Sketchy Men