Jason Kelce is the latest public figure to inspire a viral lookalike contest.

On Saturday (December 14) Philadelphia residents gathered in Rittenhouse Square to find who looked most like the retired Philadelphia Eagles player. The event was hosted by a comedian known as @lexaprotagnist on Instagram.

The user made a post advertising the event on December 13 as they thanked various organizations for helping with spreading the word. “Thank you to @crossingbroad @phillyinquirer for your early support of the event,” read the caption of the post.

“Thank you @claireegill and @noahwoodtheman of @campcrushcomedy for helping me connect the digital comedy world with the physical world. And shout out to @birdgangspirits spirits Philadelphia for throwing us some goodies to give away. PHILLAAAAAAY. LETS ROCK.”

The contestants showed up to the event wearing Kelce’s signature outfits such as an Eagles Kelly green tracksuit, flip-flops, and beanies all with a full beard.

The host of the contest also posted a video from the event, showing off all the variations of Kelce including one that recreated the ESPN host topless while celebrating at a Buffalo Bills game last year. To show off their outfits, all of the men were walking down a Kelly green carpet.

Others carried around a case of Garage Beer, which is a brand that Kelce co-owns. One contestant, named Paul Crossley, who carried the beer went on to win the contest.

“Very tough competition. You know, a lot of guys looked exactly like me, to be honest out here,” he told a local NBC outlet. “It was kind of freaky. But, everyone came up and had a good time and here we are. We all pulled together, all of us Jasons and they were great. They were great competitors.”

A few days before the contest, Kelce’s wife, Kylie spoke about the event during an episode of her Not Gonna Lie podcast. “I can’t wait to see who wins,” she said at the time.

She even went on to provide some tips for what the contestants should wear in order to look as much like the New Heights podcast host as possible. Kylie suggested that people wear “a heavy sweater,” that has “some type of design on it.”

The mother of three girls also mentioned that velour tracksuits were a good outfit option, specifically one that has the Italian flag on it.

Celebrity lookalike contests first started to gain popularity following the Timothée Chalamet competition in New York City in October.

The event saw more than 2,000 attendees gather at Washington Square Park to watch approximately 30 people dressed in their best Chalamet attire compete for a $50 cash prize. Some even dressed in costume as some of Chalamet’s most iconic movie characters like Willy Wonka.

The contest, hosted by YouTuber Anthony Po, was moved to Mercer Park after law enforcement intervened and dispersed the unauthorisedgathering.

Chalamet himself even made an appearance as a video on X (formerly Twitter) showed him walking through the crowd and pausing for photos with fans.

There was also a Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest in Chicago in November with advertisements claiming that the winner would receive a “$50 cash prize plus some cigarettes.”

Read More