The VICE Guide to Right Now

After Licking a Toilet Seat for Online Fame, Influencer Claims He Has Coronavirus

Obviously, he’s not receiving much sympathy.
JP
translated by Jade Poa
larz influencer coronavirus positive lick toilet
Collage by VICE, screenshot of licking a toilet via @GAYSHAWNMENDES and LARZ.

This article originally appeared on VICE Indonesia.

Remember last week, when influencers were licking toilet seats in what they called the "coronavirus challenge," while most people in the world were religiously washing their hands? Well, one of the influencers who did it claims that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

The 21-year-old American, who goes by the screen name Larz, announced this on his now-suspended Twitter account on March 25. He later uploaded the same post to Instagram.

Advertisement

“Hey guys, I’m really doped up on my meds right now,” he said in the 1-second video taken in a hospital bed.

In his coronavirus challenge video, Larz walks into a public restroom, enters one of the stalls, and licks the toilet seat twice.

Followers and netizens tore Larz apart in the comments section, with some blaming him for catching the illness. Others called him a “volunteer” for natural selection.

However, Larz didn’t actually show any receipts, so it’s still unknown if he really contracted the coronavirus after licking a toilet seat. Larz was already a fan of licking things in public, even before COVID-19 became a pandemic.

He previously appeared on the talk show Dr. Phil after going viral for licking a tub of ice cream in a supermarket and putting it back on the shelf. Fellow influencer Bameron Kall, also an ice cream-licker, told Dr. Phil that he “wanted to show how easy it is to go viral.”

Influencer Ava Louise, who said she started the coronavirus challenge because she “fucking hates old people,” turned a lot of heads when she licked an airplane toilet seat. She later claimed that she monetised the viral video, but TikTok took it down just a day after she posted it.

Unlike Larz, Louise seems fine, and appears to show no remorse for having perpetuated a potentially dangerous act.

1585210190866-pekok3

Ava Louise’s comment on Larz’s post at the hospital.