A fake Banksy held a meet-and-greet, and people actually showed up

Several dozen people showed up at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City over the weekend after a Facebook prank stated that those who showed up would get to meet the famous Banksy there.

One person that didn't show up: the real Banksy.

The "'Banksy' Meet and Greet" event, initially created in September, was scheduled for Jan. 16 and featured a photo of someone who was decidedly not Banksy. It promised that the notoriously secretive graffiti artist and activist would be "introduced to American society for the first time."

See also: Banksy’s Dismaland is now a refugee shelter in Calais

From the misspellings of Banksy's name as "Mr. Bank" and "Bankies" to an assurance that the first 100 RSVPs would get a "free face painting from the scoundrel himself," the event was debunked as fake pretty quickly. Yet 12,000 people still responded that they would come.

Image: Facebook

Surprising almost nobody, Banksy never showed up at the Waldorf on Saturday. But Michael Whatley, the model who appeared in the event's photo was there, along with several fans who were in on the joke, according to the Village Voice.

Whatley, who told Vice he believes his photo was used because it's one of the first results when you google "average man" (he directed a play called An Average Man), visited the hotel and pretended to be Banksy, taking photos with fans, some of whom had "Banksy was here" painted on their faces. Only a few dozen showed up — not quite the 12,000 folks who declared they were coming on Facebook — but it wasn't a bad excuse to hang around the Waldorf.

Image: Facebook

Image: Facebook

And for those who thought the whole ordeal was real and are slowly realizing they got duped: Sorry to crush your dreams.