The 'Apparently Kid' Noah Ritter Discusses His Classic Viral Video 10 Years Later

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of what's often considered one of the most classic viral videos of all time. The video, known as "Apparently Kid," stars a then 5-year-old Noah Ritter, who has taken the microphone from a newscaster to rant about anything and everything going on in his life.

The adorable moment gained worldwide virality, particularly for how liberally Ritter peppers the word "apparently" throughout his speech.

The video even led to Ritter appearing on Ellen several times and a brief stint judging on the short-lived TV series called The Toy Box, which is essentially Shark Tank but for toys.

We talked with Noah Ritter on the 10th anniversary of his viral video and meme to find out what he's been up to since that fateful day.

Q: Hi Noah! It's great to talk with you. For those who might not know you, do you mind introducing yourself?

A: Hi my name is Noah Ritter, I’m known as the “Apparently Kid.” I was interviewed when I was about six at a county fair and I said the word “apparently” a lot. People liked that, it went viral and I turned into a meme.

Q: How did the viral video come about?

A: So there was a news station around this fair and me and my family had just gotten off a ride. They were right next to that area and my grandfather, who is like my best friend, he pushed me towards the news station lady and she started talking to me. I stole the microphone away from her and just started rambling on about what I did at the fair. I started talking about the different rides I went on and stuff like that.

Q: You're very comfortable during that interview. Have you always been like that in front of cameras?

A: I was always a very talkative kid. I’d go up to anyone, it could have been a complete stranger and I’d go up and talk their ear off. I’d go up and rant about anything I was interested in that day. I was a very outgoing kid and still am.

Q: Why do you think you said "apparently" so much?

A: I think it’s because whenever I go on a long tangent or I talk for a while, I used “and” and “uhs” and stuff like that. My mom would try and make me stop saying “and” and “uhs” because it didn’t sound too good, so I replaced “and” and “uhs” with “apparentlys.”

Q: How vividly do you remember that day 10 years later?

A: I was like, five and it’s very vivid. I can still remember the color shirt I was wearing, it was like, green and yellow with stripes. So I can remember a lot.

Q: When did you first see your news appearance?

A: The night we got home, my grandpa called me into the living room and he was like, “Look at the TV, you’re on the news and you’re famous.” I remember watching it and I remember a bunch of family members calling me and congratulating me and it was really a fun time. Then we got the next – I think the next day the same news station came down to my house for a follow-up interview.

Q: When did you first notice the video going viral?

A: When a classmate showed it to me in school. They were like, “Hey is this you?” and they pulled up the video and I saw how many views it had.

Q: How soon after the interview happened did the video go viral?

A: It was right after because the news station then uploaded it to YouTube. Within a couple of days, it had like, millions of views.

Q: How did friends and family react to its virality?

A: Well my friends didn’t believe me at first, because I would always talk about extravagant adventures and stuff. Sometimes they would be real, sometimes they would be clearly made up from my imagination.

Once they saw that it was actually me, they were pretty excited for me. My mom and my stepdad were also pretty excited. Some of the reactions in the comments of the video were like, “This kid’s really cute,” “This is hilarious,” they’re laughing about how I stole the microphone from the lady and started rambling on about everything.

Q: The reactions to that video have been universally positive. That's not always the case with viral videos. Why do you think that is?

A: I think it helped [that I was a kid] because a lot of people liked the aspect of “this cute kid did something funny.” It got shared around a bunch, like, worldwide. There’d be comments, even on my YouTube channel now, I have people from like India, Africa, China, Asia and all those different areas of the world, they’re commenting, sending love.

Q: When did people start recognizing you from the video?

A: I would say a week or two after [the viral video]. It was during the Summer and I would always live with my grandfather in the Summer. Whenever we’d go out to the movies or to the store, people would see my red hair and they would see me or they’d hear me talking and they’d be like, “Oh my god, that’s the apparently kid.” They’d come up and ask for a picture or a high five or a handshake.

Q: Have you always been receptive to the attention you get from the video?

A: Yeah I always stopped and gave them a minute of my time, because they made me famous, so I feel like I should give back to them with just a minute of my time. It wasn’t exactly a grueling experience taking a photo every now and then.

Q: 10 years later you look a bit different than you did in that video. Do people still recognize you?

A: Yeah, I get recognized a lot during school by teachers and students. I had these two girls who walked into my math class at the end of the year who recognized me and asked me to sign their yearbook.

Q: Do people still ask you to say "apparently?"

A: Yeah, a bunch of my friends are friends with people that haven’t met me and they’ll be like, “Hey Noah can you send me a video of you saying ‘apparently’ for a second or two? My friend doesn’t believe I’m really friends with you.’”

Q: What's the biggest opportunity you've gained from the viral video?

A: The biggest opportunity was being on “The Toy Box.” I had a six-year deal with ABC, but then Toys R’ Us got shut down, or they went bankrupt and that was like, the main sponsor. That’s where they’d sell the toy that won “The Toy Box.”

Q: What was The Toy Box?

A: The concept was, they’d take people who invented toys and submit them to go on the show. Then first season was in New York and it was only four judges: Me and three other kids. It was basically like “Shark Tank” but for toys. So we would play with toys, ask questions about them, stuff like that. Then we’d decide the winner at the end of each season.

It lasted two seasons. The second season they added four more judges. It was supposed to go on for six but only lasted for two.

Q: You made a lot of appearances on the Ellen show because of the video. What was that like?

A: It was amazing. I got to go on a tour through the backlot of the studio that she filmed in, I think it was Warner Brothers because I saw a lot of DC Comics stuff. It was very cool, I was treated very nicely. In my little green room, before I would go on, a bunch of other celebrities would come in just to see me and get a picture with me. I got a picture with Pitbull and a bunch of other people. Jennifer Garner.

Q: How did you first hear that Ellen wanted you on her show?

A: One of her producers found out how to contact my grandpa. We were getting contacted by a bunch of different news networks, daytime TV shows like “Good Morning America,” “Ellen,” a bunch of other TV shows I can’t remember the names of. I just got to pick which ones I wanted to go on.

Q: Who is the biggest celebrity you've met because of the viral video?

A: I would say the biggest [celebrity] that I met was Bill Clinton. I got to interview him one time on – I had a little sideshow on ”Ellen.” The most memorable I’d say are Chris Pratt and Jim Carrey. They were real hilarious, awesome guys.

Q: In recent years, some people have made claims about Ellen being unprofessional towards her staff. Did you ever experience anything like that?

A: It was all positive. Me and my family were always treated very nicely. The dressing room, or the green room, was always very clean. It had snacks. But you could definitely tell that her staff was afraid to mess up around her.

Q: We spoke earlier about how comfortable you are on camera. Where do you think that comes from?

A: I grew up watching YouTube. I was mostly raised on the internet, so I watched a lot of YouTubers and Let’s Players, stuff like that. I always wanted to be like them. I always wanted to be an internet personality, talk in front of the camera for an hour or two every day, just have fun.

Q: Any favorite YouTubers?

A: When I was a little kid I used to love JackSepticEye and Markiplier. They would be my favorites. I’ve gotten into other ones like Moist Critikal. VanossGaming was a good one from the old days.

Q: The "Apparently Kid" video is often considered a classic viral video. How does it feel for your video to have such a massive impact on meme and internet culture?

A: It feels kind of crazy because I’ll just be watching some random YouTube video and if the guy who is talking would say “apparently” there’s a chance that a picture of me as a little kid would pop up. Like, every time my friends see one they’ll send it to me. I’ve had teachers in class pull up one of my videos because they didn’t believe me, then they watch the video and they’re like, “Oh my gosh, that’s really you.”

Q: Do you still keep up with meme culture today?

A: Yeah I’m pretty active on Instagram and TikTok and stuff like that, YouTube. I always keep up with what’s going on in the culture.

Q: Do you have a favorite meme or video that's come from the viral video?

A: My favorite way was I think a month or two after my interview, the guys at Schmoyoho remixed the interview into a song. They used to do a series about that. They’ve done it and they did a remix of that remix recently and I posted it on my YouTube channel.

Q: Do you still attend the fair where the viral video took place?

A: Yeah I go back there every year. People there recognize me a lot more often than on any normal day. I think it’s pretty cool. My grandpa’s friends with the owner of the fair, because he worked on a bridge that is, like, the entrance to the fair. He used to show animals off, because [the fair has] a little farm animal section where people show off their prized cows and stuff like that. So he used to show off cows there when he was younger. I feel like the fair’s always been connected to my family.

Q: What's been the biggest lasting impact of being the apparently kid?

A: I feel like the biggest lasting impact is people still recognizing me 10 years later, whether I’m out at a store or I’m just walking around an area, there’s a decent chance that someone will recognize me and get my picture.

Q: Do you ever get tired of being defined by your viral video?

A: Not really. I like to roll with it, it’s pretty funny. Like, my nickname on my football team for the entire freshman year was “Ellen.” I think one of the coaches called me Ellen one time and I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is going to stick with me all four years of football.”

Q: Do you ever tell people you're the apparently kid when you meet them? Or is that the sort of thing you wait for them to ask?

A: I don’t like to bring it up because it just feels kind of like I’m bragging. I’ll be honest, if I’m with my other friends, they’ll bring it up for me. Like, if we’re playing a game and someone new joins that I haven’t talked to, they’ll be like, “Hey, did you know this guy’s the ‘Apparently Kid?’” Or if we’re out in public or something and someone is looking at me, they’ll do a double take and try to make sure it’s me before they come up and talk to me.

Q: What's your life like 10 years later?

A: It’s definitely calmed down a little bit. I haven’t been flying out to LA and stuff like that. But I’m still posting on my YouTube channel. Whenever me and my grandpa go to a movie, we’ll do a quick review, talk about if we enjoyed it. I’m just going to school, doing football, stuff like that.

Q: When did you start pursuing a YouTube career?

A: I started in I think the sixth or seventh grade. I started trying to upload YouTube videos. The first couple of ones went viral, they weren’t “apparently kid” related. They were just me playing a video game but I didn’t have a capture card, so I’d have a tripod and I’d hold my phone up to the screen while I’m playing. Or it’s me petting my dog and talking about my dog. Then it started getting better in quality and stuff like that.

Q: What are your aspirations for your channel?

A: I’m going to stick with gaming content and stuff like that. I want to be able to like, sort of live off of it. Like, I can do it part-time and not be desperate in need of money or a job. So I’m going to just keep grinding that out. I’m close to getting a silver play button.

Q: You recently reconnected with WNEP-TV, the news channel responsible for your virality, for a 10-year anniversary interview. What was that like?

A: It was amazing. The guy who was interviewing me, Jeremy Lewan, he was amazing, he was so nice, really cool. I’m gonna be honest, he was more famous than me at that fair, because everyone knows him as the weatherman. He had a bunch of old ladies coming up to him, “Oh I love you on the weather.” And he’s trying to move them over to me so they can like, “Remember me?” So it was just really cool sharing all my experiences with him.

And he really shared some cool stuff. We walked around the fair, he shared all the old history of the fair, stuff like that. My grandpa definitely had fun talking with him about old farm equipment.

Q: Your grandfather seems like a very important figure in your life and your virality. What can you say about your grandpa?

A: He’s a really amazing person. He’s always pushed me to do new stuff and do it at 110%. He’s always been looking out for me. He was kind of like my agent when I was young before I hired an actual agent. He made sure that I wasn’t signing any bad contracts that were gonna mess me over. So he’s always been looking out for me and he always accompanied me on every trip to California or any other place where I wasn’t at home.

Q: Do you have any advice for people who find themselves going viral? How would you suggest they handle it?

A: I would just say, try to look for the most positive impact that you can do with [your virality]. I would just say roll with whatever happens. If it’s a bad thing, try to distance yourself from it, but if it’s a good thing and you can turn it positive, I’d try to go for the more positive route. I wouldn’t get too much of an ego while doing it. I like to think that I’m decently grounded.