Teen “Sherlock” lookalike in social media backlash
At 16 he's a dead ringer for Benedict Cumberbatch -but he didn't plan on going viral in China.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
Poor Tyler Michell.
The 16 year old posted selfies of himself on Instagram, noting his remarkable resemblance to actor Benedict Cumberbatch and tagging the photos with #cumberbatch, #sherlock, #benedict hashtags.
The UK teenager posted a screengrab of Cumberbatch appearing on Top Gear, commenting, “Watching myself on TV.”
Within days of posting the photos he began receiving hundreds, then thousands, of comments from China where Sherlock streams on popular video sites.
“You are truly a baby Benedict!” wrote one.
“You should post some videos of you pretending to be Sherlock,” posted another, adding, “Say some quotes, please?”
“I saw u just now on Sina Weibo,” another wrote.
Regrettably, Tyler didn’t respond well.
“Chinese followers. Stop commenting on all my stuff.”
At 16 years of age, he was probably overwhelmed by so many responses in a language other than his own.
Unfortunately that led to angry responses accusing him of racism.
“You wanted to be famous and the Chinese followers made it [come true]. Everything has double sides… It’s just what u need to pay for being famous,” wrote one follower.
He now has nearly 12,000 followers on Instagram.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
5 Responses
@DansDans
From the back, I look like Brad Pit.
he is a dead ringer based on a one angle? Please
at a certain angle i am dead ringer for Bruce Willis, but in normal light I look nothing like him
Unfortunately it’s a harsh lesson the younger generations have to learn about living in the age of social media. Mind what you say and do coz it’s there forever and reactions are instant.
Totally freaky, it is like he is a clone of Cumberbatch, that is one hell of a remarkable resemblance.
definitely a dead ringer. wonder if there could be a job for him in a flashback scene to sherlock’s teen years. his childhood with his brother has come up in storylines a few times.