This week, the world is concerned about “Willy’s Chocolate Experience,” an event in Glasgow, Scotland, ended in tears. Organizers used an AI-generated ad that promised $45 worth of Wonka’s Wonderland, but when parents and children arrived, they found a sterile, dingy warehouse . Some Actors who participated in the production came one after another Sharing horror stories, one woman said she played a sinister character called “The Unknown.” But now, internet sleuths have uncovered a darker truth: This so-called “unknown” is fake.
After the story broke, an actor named Paul Connell, who was hired to play Willy Wonka at the event, posted a series of viral videos about his experience. In more salacious detail, he describes a subplot involving “Unknown,” a sleazy rival chocolatier.
“There’s a man who lives here. His name is unknown, so we call him ‘The Nameless One,'” Cornell recited lines from the play. “The Nameless Man is the evil chocolatier who lives in the walls.” video According to one attendee, the “unknown” appeared from behind the mirror, dressed in black and wearing a menacing mask, causing a fearful reaction in the children.
(Gizmodo obtained a copy of the crazy AI-generated script from Willy’s Chocolate Experience. read here.)
A number of videos of the “unknown incident” have surfaced on the internet as examples of just how weird and strange the whole thing is. Days later, rumors surfaced that the actress who played “Nobody” was preparing to step forward.Then, on Thursday, Manchester comedian Jayne Edwards posted a video.
“As some of you know, I was an actor hired to play an unknown character in ‘The Willy Wonka Glasgow Experience,'” Edwards said in the video. “It’s funny because right before the door opens, I turn to the guy who plays Willy Wonka and I’m like – I take the mask off – and I’m like, ‘Man, what have we actors gotten ourselves into? ? ‘”
Edwards paused. “I think I look cool,” she said, imitating the gestures in the “Unknown” video. “I brought that mask from home.”
Some commenters questioned her story from the start, but overall the reaction on social media took Edwards at face value, with some online outlets publishing article Video about her. But then users on X/Twitter started digging into her account. Edwards did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On February 24, the day of Wonka’s fiasco, Edwards posted a photo The title is “Leicester,” which is a city in England more than 300 miles away. The internet smells a rat. Users began criticizing Edwards in the comments of her “Unknown” video, but she defended her story. “To those who are trying to expose me, wow. I don’t know the words to describe it right now,” Edwards wrote on X. “Comfort myself with my favorite childhood moment: eating a jelly bean.” (Children in attendance reportedly only got one jelly bean.)
Soon after, X added a community note to Edwards’ video about playing an unknown game, a feature that lets users add context to error messages. a youtuber promised A video article featuring original research exposing this ruse.
By Friday, Edwards admitted her video was a hoax and claimed she declined a radio interview on the subject. “I will not carry out my nefarious plan because I have heard that the person who is allegedly a true unknown will reveal his identity,” Edwards said. Tweet. “I don’t want to take her place or make any jokes that might come back to hurt her. I hope it’s okay and I’m sorry for wasting your time!”
In retrospect, it’s clear that Edwards’ story should have been understood as a prank, and a hilarious one at that. “The kids are crying, there’s no denying that,” Edwards said in her original video about Unknown. “But if you could see their eyes like I did, you would see that they understood this as a very powerful drama. You know, and also traumatized.”
At the same time, the whole story of the Wonka affair is so bizarre that it’s easy to see how the hoax might have slipped under the radar of some viewers. At this time, the true identity of the unknown person remains unknown.