Celebrity Impersonators are Wild

[00:00:00]This girl is pretending to be Taylor Swift and was allegedly arrested for it.

[00:00:03]One man tricked the entire Las Vegas strip into believing that he was Justin Bieber.

[00:00:08]>> She went so viral that Ariana herself actually DM'd her. For some reason, Paige took this as a sign to make an OAF account where she cosplays as Ariana.

[00:00:16]Every single person in the comments is saying that Ariana should sue her. My hair is large and in charge today. It's giving lion's mane. Okay, so imagine waking up one day and realizing someone has spent years becoming you. They've copied your face. They've copied your makeup, your voice, your clothes, your mannerisms. Some even mistake them for you. They make money because people think it's you. And it seems like some of society has kind of made this like normal normal because celebrity impersonators have gone from something that you've seen like Las Vegas, right, to becoming full-time influencers. Guess how much Fabio Jackson made by impersonating Michael Jackson. Fabio Jackson was born in Norfick, England. As he entered puberty, his facial features began looking more and more like Michael Jackson. His unusual appearance made him a target of bullying throughout school.

[00:01:05]As an adult, he decided to embrace it instead of feeling insecure. He began working as an MJ lookalike, practicing Michael Jackson's iconic dance moves while refining his hairstyle and makeup to strengthen the resemblance. During the pandemic, his Tik Tok lip-sync and dance videos went viral, helping him gain tens of millions of followers. He went from an ordinary young man in the UK to a top internet celebrity, earning millions annually. He soon expanded beyond short videos, appearing at major Hollywood award shows and fashion weeks, collaborating with stars like Kanye West, and entering the web 3 and cryptocurrency space. Today, Fabio Jackson's estimated net worth is around $2.5 million.

[00:01:41]>> I have so many questions, like when does this become identity theft? joking kind of because there's a massive difference between dressing up as someone for Halloween, doing cosplay, making a parody or doing impressions of a celebrity for comedy, you know, and then like literally making it your entire identity, building your entire identity around another human and making it your career. This has been happening for a while now, but I wanted to actually sit down and talk about it cuz what the heck, I do not understand that world.

[00:02:09]So, let's discuss, shall we? Ever since elementary school, people have said that I look like Zenaia. I have over 600,000 followers on Tik Tok. I got 2.1 million likes just for standing next to a cardboard cutout.

[00:02:20]>> Take a look at this girl, Ashley Legion.

[00:02:22]If I didn't tell you her name was Ashley, you might have that this girl is actually Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift fans found her while folding laundry in a simple Tik Tok video she posted back in 2021. And since then, her online fame has skyrocketed. And she's got invited onto talk shows. I've seen Sabrina Carpenter, Michael Jackson, Timothy Shalamé, Johnny Deb, Bruno Mars, and the list just keeps growing. But the main one, the main one I have seen is Ariana Grande. We have over 75 inspired outfits by Ariana Grande in our closet, and we have roughly half a dozen exact replications of things she's worn. We are getting ready to recreate one of Ariana Grande's iconic street looks that she's worn. It takes us roughly about 3 hours to do the full transformation. And most of you probably recognize the person behind me. And not because she's one of the biggest pop stars of our generation, but because she is that pop star's biggest impersonator.

[00:03:23]>> Hi, this is Michael Jackson >> and this is Ariana Grande and we wish you >> a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

[00:03:33]>> Again, people are making entire careers out of it. It's crazy. millions of followers, brand deals, appearances, meet and greets, TV shows, interviews, even documentaries.

[00:03:44]Which raises one giant question, why? I feel like years ago, if you happen to look like a celebrity, your friends might tell you, and then that was the end of it. You know, now Tik Tok exists, social media exists, and suddenly one random video goes viral because people think they're Ariana Grande, and now they have 2 million followers. Companies want to sponsor you. People are asking for selfies. The internet rewards you for looking like someone else. Not because of your personality, not really because of your talents, but because your face simply resembles another person's. Probably one of the biggest examples of this is Paige Neman. Am I saying her last name right? Paige. If you're part of Ariana's fan group, if you're very familiar with Ariana Grande, you definitely know who Paige is. But if you don't know who she is, she became famous simply for looking very similar to Ariana Grande. At least on the internet. She adopted Ariana's hairstyles, her makeup, her clothing, facial expressions, voice, poses, mannerisms, everything. Okay? Even down to her weight.

[00:04:42]>> No matter what phase Ariana is in, whether it's the high pony phase, the blackiana phase, Paige is doing the same exact thing. But then Ariana's health and weight became such a major topic of discussion because she started looking unhealthy. People were wondering what was wrong. And then bam, this is a picture of Paige. She seemingly lost a drastic amount of weight. How do you go from looking like this and looking like this to looking like this? This surpasses like being a celebrity impersonator.

[00:05:13]>> And millions of followers later, she becomes one of the most well-known celebrity look alikes on the internet.

[00:05:19]Some people think it's harmless. Some people think it's deeply unsettling. I mean, especially the fact like doesn't she have like an only fans dressing up as her? That's That's concerning. That adds like another layer to it. And actually, even Ariana Grande herself has acknowledged Paige. She has sent her a DM.

[00:05:37]>> She shares a DM that Ariana sent her in the past. Ariana says, "I am flattered and I'm sure you're very sweet, but I just wanted to let you know I look back on a little ways on your page. And I think someone should tell you if you haven't today that you're very beautiful as yourself. Without all the makeup and trying to make your face look more similar to someone else's and whatnot, I had to say it because it is the truth.

[00:05:52]Always do what makes you happy, of course. But if I didn't say that to you, I'd regret it. You're beautiful as you are. Take care, >> girl. Honestly, I would too. Like it reaches a point. Just imagine like opening up social media and seeing someone acting exactly like you or at least what they think you is, you know, the image that you put out to the world.

[00:06:07]And not once and not as a joke. Like this is a daily occurrence that would mess with anybody's head. And now get this, there has a series that has come out about Paige on Amazon. Like are are we okay? That is wild. Why? Why? And don't you have to like pay for it?

[00:06:25]Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I haven't sat down and watched any of the clips here of the documentary, but let's do that really quick together.

[00:06:35]>> All right, here's the intro for Paige Neman's documentary.

[00:06:38]>> I'm a content creator. I have over 11 million followers.

[00:06:42]>> Ronnie look like Paige Neman.

[00:06:43]>> I'm just also looking for people to not hate me.

[00:06:47]>> Then stop doing it.

[00:06:51]>> She even does her little scream. I can't. I'm just wondering why she needed a show for impersonating somebody else.

[00:06:59]I bought Paige Neman's documentary so you don't have to. Let's get it. So, I'm not going to lie, most of it really is just about how shy and awkward she is and how like not built for this life she is. Here's her boyfriend. Um, he literally openly admitted that he has no plans to move out to LA with her. At one point, Paige goes, "I said I have a feeling we're going to be together forever." and he just goes, "Yeah, I remember that." This is him setting up a special dinner because she got invited to some Rolling Stones. She got invited to some Rolling Stones thing. Not sure why. I'm sure they just literally see her as a number, saw her follower count, and was like, "Actually, they probably thought she was Ariana." Y'all, this girl's whole life is impersonating someone else. Like, I know she's not harming anybody, but like one, the celebrity that you're impersonating has like kind of made it clear that she's not a fan of this. She's not a fan. But also like you have an only fans account.

[00:07:52]You have to like put yourself in the celebrity shoes. Okay? Like just imagine someone dressing like half naked, whatever. I don't know what she's posting and impersonating you while doing that.

[00:08:06]She doesn't look like Ariana really in real life. I feel I don't know. like online on her Tik Toks and stuff. It does make you like take a second look, but it's not really it's not hitting the same in person.

[00:08:19]>> I was on the playground and I think a boy liked said that I looked like her. I went home that day and I I think I searched her up. Like that's how it started. Someone told her what she looked like and so that made her all excited, did her makeup and did this and and she really had a lot of fun with it and it was just a hobby of hers and then it just it just took off.

[00:08:39]>> I don't know. Ariana is like freaking Justin Bieber. Like everyone just knows who that is. Am I wrong? You had to search her up. Especially like a girl like her. You're telling me you don't know who Ariana Grande is?

[00:08:50]>> Hey guys, I'm going to be doing a room tour. And the reason why I name this video Ariana Grande room tour is because my whole room is pretty much Ariana Grande.

[00:09:16]First off, I'm not an impersonator. I have never said or claimed to be her.

[00:09:22]>> She claims that she's not an impersonator, but she's wearing the same exact dress that Ariana Grande wore in a previous interview. I watched the Paige documentary so you guys don't have to.

[00:09:29]And I was surprised at some of the things that came out about how Ariana Grande treated Paige. Throughout the documentary, I was trying to figure out what does Paige do differently that other impersonators don't do? Because Paige gets so much backlash, I don't understand why she's so hated. But why isn't the Taylor Swift look alike hated?

[00:09:43]Because there's a lot of people dressing up on the internet. But it actually goes back to how Ariana treated Paige in the very beginning. Ariana is so wrong for this. So she first sent Paige a message in 2019 pretty much telling her, "I'm flattered that you dress up like me, but I wanted you to know that you are beautiful as you are without the makeup and the angles trying to look like me."

[00:10:00]Paige responded back pretty much saying that she is who she is, that she does this for entertainment, and she's not trying to become Ariana. she's happy with herself that she's just doing this for fun. And she's inspired by her. It seemed like everything was okay because Ariana said, "I'm flattered. I'm proud of you. If you're ever coming to a show, let's get a hug." So, everything seemed okay. But then the next day, Ariana started subtweeting on Twitter about Paige, and it was really mean and nasty.

[00:10:21]And this is why a lot of her fans do not like Paige because of how Ariana spoke about her. Some people on Twitter were getting confused between Ariana and Paige. Ariana replied to a tweet writing, "I'm never ever seen ever. I promise I look cute over here in my own world. I haven't been able to put on a pair of effing boots lately because of the traumatic image I have in my head of these uh Tik Tok performers. Then people started tweeting out Ariana pictures of Paige and she started replying with gifts. At one point she wrote, "Ooh, I want to block you so bad." She wrote I and then be nice. So she started this kind of hate train against Paige after going into her DMs and acting so friendly. Now I am not a Paige defender over here, but it's kind of sad to see Ariana switch up so quickly. Like Twitter thing went down when she was 15 years old. Like Paige was 15. She was only 15 years old when she started her account and now she's over 10 million followers and she still gets bullied.

[00:11:09]Also can't forget the time when Ariana was doing the lie detector test and she said that she would want to confront somebody who was impersonating her.

[00:11:14]>> Have you ever confronted anyone who's impersonated you?

[00:11:18]>> No.

[00:11:19]>> Have you ever wanted to?

[00:11:20]>> Yes.

[00:11:22]>> In a fun way.

[00:11:23]>> She's talking about Well, I don't know if she's talking about me, but in the video she's saying like, "Have you ever wanted to confront somebody that's impersonating you?" And she says, "Yes, but in a fun way."

[00:11:35]>> You know, I know you're kind of sweet, but you can't let people pick on you.

[00:11:38]You stand up for yourself because if you don't stand up for yourself, you're you're that means you have no character.

[00:11:43]>> Just listen to what Paige Neman's grandma has to say.

[00:11:46]>> Let people walk all over cuz she really hasn't hurt anyone. And definitely she hasn't hurt Ariana Grande. She's a big star. She's very, very successful. So, I don't see how Paige can harm her in any way. And I think that she should be flattered that someone wants to look like her. Wow. So, instead of being creeped out, she should be flattered.

[00:12:04]>> I just find it a little weird, too, that like the family is fullon supportive of it. Is that rude to say? Like, I know your family should be supportive, but I don't know. Are you picking up what I'm laying down? Anyway, I'm not going to make you sit through a bunch of these clips. You can find some of these on the internet. She's just famous for this on the internet. And there are countless of celebrity doubles online. Just about every celebrity out there, I'm sure. Pop stars, actors, athletes, even YouTubers.

[00:12:30]Some are comedians, some are performers, some just genuinely happen to resemble celebrities. And then there are some that are like slowly reshaping themselves over the years. Hair, fillers, plastic surgery, weight loss, fashion, speech, expressions until eventually their own identity almost disappears. Like I've seen celebrity impersonators say like, "Oh, no, no, no." Like I'm not even like, for example, an Ariana fan. I know you can like someone's style and stuff without being a fan of them, but like down to like their hair, outfits, mannerisms. I have questions. All of y'all who are assuming that I'm trying to be Ariana Grande or that I'm whatever the heck with Ariana Grande, no, you're completely wrong.

[00:13:12]>> We did that on chic. It's timeless. It's great for spring and it's ultra comfortable.

[00:13:18]>> The funny part about whenever someone does like that impersonator is that they always try to deny that they're not doing it, bro. Like you didn't wake up and choose to do that high pony. Like all regular people knew the headaches that would ensue with that high ass ponytail. You were only doing that if you were trying to be Ariana. Like let's be real. You were only wearing the oversized hoodie and the thigh high boots because you wanted to be Ariana.

[00:13:38]And that's cool. We all wanted to be Ariana. We all me and you. We all wanted to be Ari. Like bro, please.

[00:13:44]>> Now this isn't like a new thing.

[00:13:46]Celebrity look alikes have existed for years. especially like Elvis impressions and Marilyn Monroe Vegas shows tribute performers, but I feel like that's a little different. Like they're entertainers. Everyone knows they're impersonating, you know? Just social media has kind of changed the rules because now the goal isn't always like just it being a performance. It's confusing a little bit.

[00:14:11]As I'm like making my way to the stage to start my set, I do see like a group of people and what I think is Bieber at the most VIP table. I just kind of get like a head nod and like a high five. No real like dialogue in Vegas. Like this kind of stuff does happen from time to time. Some of the people that I work with are patting me like on the shoulder during the set being like he wants to come up and basically say like Vegas, I got a special guest for you guys tonight. Give it up for Justin Bieber.

[00:14:39]the place just goes wild and it was honestly like one of the crazier Vegas moments I've had in my residency tenure.

[00:14:46]He plays one song and then he kind of just like runs off stage and after my set talking to my manager about it and he's like, "I swear to you all my life that was not Justin Bieber." That Justin Bieber impersonator was so convincing that he was able to get on stage and get paid. That's bigger than just walking in the mall and taking pictures with fans.

[00:15:05]This man was literally on stage performing. Not only was he able to trick the audience, but this man was able to trick the DJ. The DJ had no idea it wasn't him until after the performance. It wasn't like this man had his own team and was performing with them on stage. No, this man hopped on a stage with a very random set. After running up a $10,000 tab and not paying for it, this man was banned. He has been banned for a life at this nightclub. I don't know how the story isn't making more headlines, but Detroit Jingle Ball is sick for this because they are under fire for basically teasing that Taylor Swift was going to be coming out and they brought out this awful impersonator.

[00:15:45]>> MAKE SOME NOISE FROM TAYLOR SWIFT.

[00:15:49]>> They introduce Taylor Swift and this woman comes out.

[00:16:00]But honestly, it's so funny when she comes out because after the announcers like say Taylor Swift, the stadium was already so loud. No one understood that they didn't say Taylor Swift and then this rando lady came out and she was awful and so everyone just stood there.

[00:16:14]I'm just so shocked that this hasn't become a bigger news story. Do they really need to fill an act so badly that they just plucked a Taylor Swift impersonator off the street? people intentionally film videos that are like kind of blurry, like not the highest quality, or avoid like correcting comments. Let people believe that they're the celebrity, you know? Like there's videos out there of like people dressing up as a celebrity as if it was the celeb going out undercover with like shades on and a hat and stuff and letting everybody think that it's them.

[00:16:42]There's prank videos and stuff like that and these impersonators being swarmed by people. Like, there's different kinds of impersonation. Someone who books a tribute act at like a wedding of Elvis, that's transparent. Why is it always Elvis? Someone who does impressions on like Saturday Night Live, that's parody.

[00:16:59]Someone who dresses as a celebrity for Halloween, that's fine. That's normal.

[00:17:02]But what about someone who builds an entire online career around looking and acting like a living celebrity? What if they start accepting paid appearances, selling merchandise, partnering with brands? And this is the part that fascinates me. Psychologists have long discussed identity formation. how people develop a stable sense of who they are over time. Most of us experience with things like fashion, hairstyles, interests, or role models when you're younger. You know, that's normal. But social media has added a new layer. Now, instead of simply admiring someone, you can be rewarded for like becoming them.

[00:17:35]Imagine you post a video of yourself and you get like 500 views. And then you recreate Ariana's makeup, outfit, hairstyle, and her mannerisms. And then suddenly that video blows up. What does that teach your brain? maybe that your authentic self isn't as valuable, but someone else's identity is. And if your income, followers, and validation all depend on staying in character, it raises an uncomfortable question. At what point do you stop knowing when the performance ends and your real personality begins?

[00:18:03]>> There's a lady whose entire personality is impersonating and looking like Taylor Swift. And I think it's the like most weird and strange thing you could do.

[00:18:09]She does everything to look like Taylor Swift, talk like Taylor Swift, and like with her new album release, I've seen this lady make several videos like going into stores dressed up as Taylor Swift trying to fool people. And allegedly, people say that she's gotten like plastic surgery and touch-ups to make herself look more like Taylor Swift. And if that's true, that's even more insane because to completely erase your own identity to take on a celebrity. That's so weird. And like I guarantee you the celebrity either doesn't know you or if they do know you, they hate you. And let me clarify, there's a difference between an impersonator and a performer. Because there are people who look like a celebrity and they just perform as them.

[00:18:37]Like that's their act. They do it only for shows and they don't like resemble them any other time. But these impersonators who make their entire life, I mean when they wake up, go to sleep, go out in public, everything they do, they take the identity of the celebrity, that's weird.

[00:18:49]>> What do you mean your career is looking like someone else or your whole personality on social media is looking and acting and moving like someone else as if you are them. That is something that has always been weird to me. Like always, like it's one thing if somebody's like, "Oh wow, your celebrity look alike is so and so." like you could be their sibling, you could be their identical twin. Okay? You know, thank you. That's so cool. X, Y, and Z, right?

[00:19:14]And then you continue living your own life, doing your own thing because you have your own identity. But when people take that and they decide they want to start getting surgeries to look more like that person or uh dressing like that person, getting the same hairstyle as that person, like they really embody their whole personality as much as possible. That to me is borderline mental illness. like it because why do you want to be so much like someone else?

[00:19:38]>> My BPD kind of manifested as me taking on like a physical form of someone I was told I resembled. I was told I look like a slew of different celebrities growing up and omg the Ariana phase was intense.

[00:19:48]Okay, I disliked myself so much that I wanted to be someone else. And I know all the hate comments were like, "You're great as yourself. Just be yourself."

[00:19:55]But like, try telling someone who's sick that. Like I swore up, down, left, and right I was not sick until I was like literally forced to go get the proper help. Not trying to diagnose anybody who may look like they're going through what I have gone through. I'm just trying to leave some space for people to be kinder to others because everyone has a battle that they're going through that you know nothing about. Another reason this works so well online is because of parasocial relationships. Fans can feel emotionally connected to a celebrity that they've never met. So when someone looks almost identical to that celebrity, it scratches that part of the brain, you know, it scratches that psychological itch. People leave comments like, "Oh my gosh, I thought this was Ariana. I had to double check, etc." That surprise becomes entertainment. And the algorithm loves that. There's another side that I don't think is talked about enough.

[00:20:43]Like, what does that feel like for the celebrity? Imagine someone constantly recreating your face, your smile, your laugh, your old interviews, your photos, your outfits. For celebrities that already struggle with privacy that could feel incredibly invasive. And honestly, I think celebrity impersonators are just a symptom of something bigger. We become obsessed with attention. And sometimes the fastest way to get attention isn't being original, which is really sad. I wouldn't really want attention for pretending to be someone that I'm not or like putting on an act. So, I'm so grateful for all of you. You actually really like me. Sometimes I get comments from people are like, "I've been around for a decade." I'm like, "Oh my gosh, we literally, first of all, grew up online together." You like me like that? Like, I don't know how I've managed to keep you around for that many years, but oh my word, I feel so special. If you feel like commenting why you've subscribed to me, maybe how long you've been around or whatever, even if it's just a little while. I would genuinely really like to know. I love reading comments like that.

[00:21:37]It makes my whole day. Even like new subscribers, when you comment like, "Hey, this is my first video from you. I love your channel." Or like, "You gained a new subscriber." I love it. You don't even understand. I'm reading your comments with a giant smile on my face.

[00:21:49]I promise you. Sorry I went off topic, but I just want to say I really love and appreciate you guys so much. Anyways, okay. Love you. People stop scrolling when they recognize a face, even if it isn't actually the person. And that's why like these impersonators, I feel go viral so easily. At the end of the day, I don't think every celebrity impersonator is malicious, have ill intent. Some just happen to resemble a famous person. Some enjoy performance.

[00:22:13]Some build tribute careers that are very clearly labeled and understood. But I do think social media has blurred the line between admiration and imitation in a way that we haven't really seen before.

[00:22:25]When your success depends on people mistaking you for someone else, it raises bigger questions on identity, on authenticity, and what the internet chooses to reward. Because if the easiest path to fame is becoming someone else, what does that say about the value we place on being ourselves? For the record, I just want to say you're pretty dang cool. You don't need to be like anybody else. Imagine if we were all the same. That would be kind of scary, you know? Like, I don't really like when houses all look the same. It freaks me out. Have you ever seen the movie Bavarium? If you haven't, you should watch it. I love a scary movie, but it's not like jump scare scary. So, if you're not huge into scary movies, it's not like that. It's just one that plays with your brain and you like watch it and then at the end you're like, "What the freak did I just watch?" I love movies like that. If we were all the same, how boring. Yawn, no. You're mad cool. Stay unique. Stay true to yourself. And I love you very much. That is the end of this video. Let me know your thoughts and opinions down below. Genuinely, I love to read them. So, let's chat it up below. And I hope to see you in my next video.

[00:23:28]Bye. Have any of these people heard the song Beautiful by Christina Aguilera?

[00:23:33]>> My mom used to sing that to me all the time. I was like, "Mom, please stop."

[00:23:36]You are beautiful no matter what they say. Ow. Wow. I'm combining Michael Jackson and Cristiano.

[00:23:44]What happened there?

[00:23:48]Mr. Worldwide Mr. 305. Believe me. Been there done that.