Who's The 'Cheese Ball Man' In New York City? The Viral NYC Eating Stunt Being Called 'Cringe' Explained

Over the weekend, a man ate an entire jar of cheese balls in front of a large crowd in New York City's Union Square Park. Nicknamed the Cheese Ball Man, the performer has gained a lot of fans and haters too.

The successful viral marketing stunt started with posters and flyers taped around NYC, advertising the strange eating challenge. Videos and photos of the event have gone viral across social media platforms like TikTok, Twitter / X and Instagram.

But, who is the Cheese Ball Man really? Also, why do people think it's all cringe? Let's explain.

Who's The 'Cheese Ball Man?'

The Cheese Ball Man's identity is currently unknown. He wears an orange, cheese-ball-colored ski mask and doesn't take it off in real life nor on his social media accounts.

On both Instagram and TikTok, his username is @cheeseballman427. He's been posting as the persona since March.

What Did The 'Cheese Ball Man' Do?

Last month, New Yorkers noticed small posters taped around the city that advertised the Cheese Ball Man's first public eating stunt, set to take place in Union Square Park on April 27th. The flyer's QR code linked to a page on Partiful where roughly 1,100 people said they were attending.

At 3 p.m. EST on Saturday, the Cheese Ball Man arrived at Union Square to a raucous crowd who watched him eat an entire jar of cheese balls, just like he promised. The event was documented by multiple viral posts and videos, like one TikTok video that received over 11 million views in two days.

Who's The Philly Chicken Man?

Before the NYC Cheese Ball Man launched his campaign, in late 2022, a Philadelphia man named Alexander Tominsky performed a similar public eating stunt. In his home city, he ate a full rotisserie chicken for a crowd. Tominsky was eating a rotisserie chicken every day for 40 days. On the final day, he got the largest audience.

The event went mega-viral and has earned comparisons to the Cheese Ball Man's stunt this past weekend. Some Philly natives are even a bit defensive about it, like Philadelphia Enquirer writer Emily Bloch, who actually reached out to Tominsky for comment regarding his NYC copycat.

Tominsky was not too pressed about it, saying, "Sometimes people see something they thought was cool and want to put their own spin on it."

Why Do People Think The 'Cheese Ball Man' Is Cringe?

Lots of people thought the Cheese Ball Man's stunt was awesome. Others had the opposite reaction. Many New Yorkers (among others) were a little cringed out by the whole thing, comparing it to the old era of internet humor when being so random was peak comedy.

Some people said, "This is deeply second-tier city behavior," while others suggested, "Everyone who attended should be deported back to Minnesota." These people were not thrilled by the spectacle, purporting that it was trying too hard.

Regardless of where the audience is from, it's undeniable that the Cheese Ball Man is an entertainer at heart. People were captivated by his performance and everyone shown in the footage seemed to be smiling from ear to ear. NYC buskers and street performers are no doubt scratching their heads, wondering where they went wrong.

But, yeah, all of the buzz about this Cheese Ball Man is definitely indicative of a slow news day. And, yeah, it might be a little too "le epic" for its own good. (It would have been better suited as a Dan Schneider bit on iCarly, objectively.) But people had a good time, so, who's to blame them?

Let's just let the discourse ensue. It's equally fascinating.

For the full history of the Cheese Ball Man, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.