EDGEWATER — Can't get enough of Brianna and Jaelin White, the Arizona couple who lit the internet and Chicagoans on fire? On Sept. 6 you can walk in their shoes for the "Brianna and Jaelin Walking Tour."
"See all the famous sites like Subway and the CVS parking lot, as well as all the brunch places, yoga studios, and coffee shops that should have told the Whites that Edgewater was a dangerous neighborhood," event creator Kevin Fergus, who moved from Des Plaines to Edgewater three months ago, wrote. "Bring your wallet, because everybody's either going to Chipotle or Arizona when the tours over."
Fergus, 26, who works a day job but is a comedian and improviser by trade, said he was inspired to create the event after watching the now-viral, 16 minute-long video of the Whites explaining their recent move to Chicago — and their immediate return home — after allegedly being punched in the face by a stranger.
In less than 24 hours, the Facebook event has garnered more than 4,000 RSVPs from people saying they either plan to attend or are interested in going.
“What irked me about it: like, the whole 'Chicago is dangerous, you shouldn't go anywhere in Chicago' thing, hurts a lot of people that live here," Fergus told DNAinfo. "It was just that [attitude], embodied in a YouTube video, which is why I think a lot of people glommed onto it."
The tour is set to run from 7-9 p.m. in the Edgewater neighborhood. After being overwhelmed by the response to the event online, Fergus said he had to call in recruits to help, and is in the process of organizing the final details for the tour.
“From a storytelling perspective it’s actually very good,” Fergus said. “There’s a lot of details and a lot of specific things for people to grab on to."
And grab on to, they did.
Online commenters swiftly took to posting questions on the event page poking fun of the minute details featured in the video.
"Is this the same thing as what's called the 'red line' that's literally like a subway that's like a tram that goes above the ground and below?"
"Will someone have my back incase my shoe falls off? Looking for ballers only."
"I think I did this same walk but I was drunk and I remember sucker punching some young guy and chasing them out of a subway. What ever."
"Please stay after the tour for Olympic Speed Shoe Pick Up (Baller class participants only)."
"Can we shout ARE YOU OUR UBER? at every car that passes with their window down?"
"Will there be easier targets than me on the platform?"
"We could have IKEA furniture assembling races. Winner gets an Uber voucher."
"Is it authentic? I'll only go if I will be punched in the face."
One commenter summed up the story well: "I've never felt so connected to my community and it's 100 percent at the expense of these unfortunate youths. Sorry not sorry."
In the video, the couple details their move to the city and an encounter with a man in Edgewater near the Granville Red Line stop that ended with Jaelin allegedly being punched in the face, and the couple high-tailing it out of the state the next day.
The Whites told DNAinfo they have since found a new place to call home back in Arizona and still "love Chicago," but Fergus said their video, now viewed by millions, didn't express that.
"They didn't make it clear in the video, they made it look like oh we can't live here because this one bad thing happened to us — so it's great they feel that way but they didn't make that clear in the video at all."
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