Old or young, big or small, any gender and any race—we all love a story about normal people encountering celebrities in the wild. There’s nothing juicier.
Enter Brooke Redell (@brookedarlingredell on TikTok). The a standup comedian says she used to work at a Los Angeles Lululemon during her college days.
Her alleged experience with a surprising celeb has gone viral.
No fans at Lululemon
In a video posted on Jan. 11 that has 3 million views and counting, Redell launches into a story time. It was about a bizarre encounter she had during one of her shifts.
“I was helping this guy that looked super familiar to me, but I couldn’t place where I knew him from,” Redell says in the video. “So I helped him. I went to the cash register. I just, like, couldn’t figure out how I knew him.”
Redell decides to get to the bottom of it, then and there.
“I checked him out, gave him his bag, and I said, ‘I’m sorry. I feel like I know you, but I can’t place how I know you.’” Redell recounts. “‘Are you friends with my dad?’ And he immediately, like, loud and boisterous, was like, ‘Your dad? You think I’m friends with your dad?’ And just started, like, muttering under his breath, grabbed the bag from me, and he walked out of the store.’”
Our mystery man was apparently not thrilled by the implication that he’s old enough to be friends with her dad. And not recognizable for any other reason.
Redell, for her part, says she was confused about how she possibly could have offended him by asking such an innocuous question. She still couldn’t determine why the man seemed familiar.
But things got weirder
“Then a little woman, beautiful woman, came in and came up to me and was like, ‘Did you just ask that guy if he’s friends with your dad?’” Redell says. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I couldn’t figure out how I knew him, and I just, I guess I offended him somehow.’”
The mystery woman dropped the grand reveal.
“She was like, ‘That’s Michael Rapaport,’” Redell says. “I’m his wife.”
Redell remembers the moment with humor, amused at both their reactions.
“I just think it’s funny that a 20-year-old working at Lululemon not knowing who Michael Rapaport is was offensive to him,” Redell says. “I don’t know.”
@brookedarlingredell Are you friends with my dad?#traitors #fyp #storytime #michaelrappaport #lululemon ♬ original sound – Brooke Redell
Commenters are cackling
It is important to note that anyone can go online and say just about anything. However, it’s conceivable that Redell did, in fact, have this run-in with Michael Rapaport. Rapaport, an actor-comedian who’s secured roles in the TV show Friends, the 2001 film Dr. Dolittle 2, and more, famously has abodes in both Los Angeles and his native New York City.
Unfortunately, outside of recent backlash for allegedly homophobic comments he made about one of his Traitors co-stars, it seems he’s not 100% on Gen Z’s radar. As evidenced by both Redell and her comments section.
“Who’s Michael Rapaport?” one commenter asked. “Are we supposed to know who he is?”
“I genuinely feel like a lot of celebrities think they’re way more famous than they actually are,” said another.
“Girl I’m 30 and idk who he is,” chimed in another viewer.
Other viewers commented on what they perceived as oversensitivity on Rapaport’s part, with some even comparing him to other celebrities.
“My father-in-law did something very similar to Matthew Mcconaughey,” wrote one viewer. “Who basically thought it was the funniest thing ever and went along with it for the rest of the night.”
“To be fair I think Matthew [Rapaport] is easily offended,” commented another.
Multiple commenters also thought it was funny that Rapaport’s “wife came back and said something.”
Redell’s father even got in on the fun, commenting, “I’m Brooke’s dad and I’m offended that she thought I would be friends with that Jackwagon.”
The Mary Sue has reached out to Redell via TikTok comment and Rapaport via email, requesting additional comment.
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