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Step right up to a bona-fide NYC phenomenon: Those Joker stairs continue to make news on social media and beyond. Bronx residents are expressing a complicated mixture of fury, amusement and exhaustion. On Showtime's Desus & Mero, the talk show's Bronx-proud hosts took aim at those coming to their borough for a photo op, in a segment called "Why So Stair-ious?"
They also tweeted about it:
legally as a bronx resident you're allowed and encouraged to tax anyone visiting the joker stairs
— Desus Nice (@desusnice) October 17, 2019
COME THRU BRING AN IPAD PRO AND CASH https://t.co/HJaq82WjRd
— THE KID MERO 🇩🇴 (@THEKIDMERO) October 18, 2019
Now, upping the ante, TMZ is today reporting that Bronx-born House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has some serious ambivalence about the movie tourists. Smiling during an impromptu Capitol Hill interview, AOC remembers steering clear of those steps when she was younger, quickly adding, "The Bronx is much safer now." But she goes on to issue a mock-serious warning: "Listen—keep your Instagram posts outside of the Boogie Down!"
Not that anyone is listening to her. The 'grams are only now starting to crest, and even have their own hashtag, #jokerstairs. Truth be told, we're loving some of these shots (our favorites are below). Apart from any incel-related axe you'd like to grind, the photos speak to the way film lovers invest in the physical worlds of their obsessions. That doesn't have to be creepy—we're all guilty of it, especially when we go to Katz's and sit at a certain table.