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- Dozens gathered in New York for a Nathan Fielder and Elizabeth Holmes look-alike contest.
- A small crowd cheered on the sea of black blazers, blonde buns, and tiny headphones.
- One of the event’s organizers said more than 200 people registered to attend.
Washington Square Park on Sunday afternoon looked like a cross between a vigil, a corporate mixer, and a low-budget film set.
It was, in reality, an Elizabeth Holmes and Nathan Fielder lookalike contest, as fandom about the documentary “You Can See Everything” spilled onto the streets. A small crowd cheered on the gaggle of blazer-donning blondes and graying fans wearing tiny headphones. Holmes wannabes milled around, their heavily lined eyes wide and fingers forming the “okay” hand gesture associated with the Theranos founder.
Age was no object: One of the Holmeses appeared to be under 10 in a video on X, though she’d already mastered the founders’ characteristic stare.
The prize ultimately went to two adults, Joe Sivick and Nicole Travolta, the post said. Speaking into a megaphone, Sivick said he lives in New York, is married, and has a cat. Travolta, who identifies as an actress and comedian on Instagram, posted about her unexpected win, showing off a beaded turquoise coin purse that reads “Delulu for life” in a video on her story. Typically a brunette, she appears to have invested in a wig for the big day.
Maddy West, a New York-based comedian and Fielder fan, organized the event with a friend. Look-alike contests rose in popularity a few years ago, with celebrities from Timothée Chalamet to Glen Powell getting the doppelganger treatment.
The organizers had about a week to set up the event, from the prizes and the registration to securing the guest judge, Kor Skeete, who starred in an episode of Fielder’s series “The Rehearsal.” West said more than 200 people responded to a registration form on the event’s Partiful invitation.
Neither Sivick nor Travolta wanted the $50 cash prize, West said, opting instead to keep a purse made by a local business. West said Sivick’s impression was so convincing, she momentarily thought he was Fielder himself.
“When he showed up to the event, I saw him from a distance, and he was wearing sunglasses. At first glance, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, did Nathan Fielder actually show?” West said.
Sunday’s contestants aren’t the only ones investing in the documentary duo’s wardrobe. TikTokers have posted about dressing up as Holmes and Fielder — or Holmes and her “drop of blood,” in at least one case — for Halloween.
Fielder’s documentary has made waves in the tech and film worlds since it debuted earlier this month. The A24 movie tracks the time the comedian spent with Holmes weeks before she reported to prison for defrauding investors, among other charges. Business Insider’s Callie Ahlgrim described it as “part character study, part psychological thriller, part surrealist thought experiment.” “You Can See Everything” grossed $15 million in its opening weekend after opening in 855 theaters, doubling producers’ expectations.
The movie is part of a string of recent releases about wealthy, hubristic tech founders — there’s Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Reckoning,” Elon Musk in “Musk,” Sam Altman in “Artificial,” and Sam Bankman-Fried in “The Altruists.” The on-screen Silicon Valley backlash has coincided with real-life discontent about the AI buildout, which is becoming a more potent issue for tech leaders and politicians alike.
This story has been updated with comments from event organizer Maddy West.
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