A struggling musician who went viral after he was photographed at hospital with a plastic cup glued to his face has admitted it was a hoax.
Len Martin, 37, named the Gorilla Glue man after the popular adhesive brand, confessed he staged the feat after seeing Tessica Brown make headlines around the world when she put Gorilla Glue in her hair.
Brown became an overnight internet sensation when she styled her hair with the glue after she ran out of hairspray. The risky experiment led to a trip to the hospital and a four-hour procedure to remove it.
Similarly, copycat Martin, an out-of-work rapper from Belle Rose, Louisiana in the US, also shot to fame when his 'ordeal' hit headlines across the world.
He faked a video of himself glueing a red solo cup to his upper lip, claiming he wanted to prove Brown was a liar by licking the glue off.
Prankster Martin said: "It was to prevent others from making the same mistake as Tessica, but also to help raise awareness of my situation.
"I come from a low-income neighbourhood and I think others would do the same if they were in my shoes. I obviously knew her story was real.
"But I come from a poor family and I saw this as an opportunity to raise awareness of my story and how much money 'clout' can really bring.
"So I faked it all. I recorded the video multiple times, picked my favourite, and posted it on Facebook and Instagram, claiming the cup was glued to my face."
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The video was shared with the caption: "I thought that chick with the Gorilla Glue was making that story up…but no.. it's real I don't know why I tried it…now they talking bout cutting the tip of my lips off in surgery…y'all pray for me."
"But if you watch the video closely I only put a tiny bit of glue on the cup and I turned it the other way so it didn't actually touch my lips," he explained.
"My father is sick with a bone disease, I have a family, and I don't have much money.
"I saw this as a chance to change everything for myself, to bring awareness to my music and hopefully make money to support my family," he continued.
Gorilla Glue 'challenge' copycat ends up in hospital after using adhesive on lip
Martin lost his job as a carpenter in industrial plants due to Covid-19. He is now aiming to forge a career in music.
He has now admitted the stunt was shot while he was at the hospital's ER (A&E) unit for an arm injury.
Martin staged the photo of himself sitting in the hospital with a cup on his face.
"I did actually go to the ER. The photo with the cup was a staged picture I had my daughter take," he said.
"It was all fake."
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