I am the guy caught on TV eating pizza during the Michael Cohen hearing, AMA!

When you were told from someone off camera that you were in the shot, you looked back at the camera almost in shock lol

Did you move out of the shot or just continue eating your pizza staring into the camera?

CBS released a full clip that shows my reaction right after: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClJcA5A6x9s

Wait this clip says that the pizza company is now using your likeness in an AD. Did they get your permission, and are they paying you?

They gave me some instore credit for free pizza. And yes they got my permission

How was that pizza?

pretty damn good ngl

Have you gotten any prospective pizza-eating internship offers since your televised debut?

Not yet. Hit me up congresspeople

How does it feel to be the next Ken Bone?

Hey I was just careful to do this on an alt lol

After people figure out who you are, and start digging into your past, what Ken Bone like revelation is going to come up and ruin you for all of us?

I'm a fan of a terrible basketball team

The Phoenix Suns?

#valleyboyz

Should have known you were a nephew.

damn you boomed me

What pizzeria did you get your pizza from? Have they offered you free pizza for life yet?

&pizza, and they reached out and they gave me a bunch of free pizza credit haha

What was your favorite moment of the hearing?

The end. Elijah Cummings' closing remarks were thunderous

Are you and the girl, who was caught on camera chatting you up, engaged yet?

I hope she's not embarrassed, lol. She's an exchange student going home on Friday (tomorrow) so nothing happened. She seemed cool though

Pizza aside, what were your thoughts on the hearing? What’s one thing the cameras didn’t capture? (Or you don’t think the cameras captured, as I doubt you watched it on tv as well as in person).

Hard to say because I haven't watched it back over but the room was really tense. Both sides were rolling their eyes and scoffing whenever the other side said something they don't agree with. Also I don't know if the cameras caught this but members of congress were constantly getting up and walking over to their colleagues to whisper stuff and then head back.

How does it feel to have AOC Tweet about your finest moment?

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1101207920291835904

Weird, definitely weird. Didnt think this is how i'd be noticed.

Everyone thought you were a staffer. What are your thoughts on that?

Makes sense! I wasn't though

Did you shake the Chairman's hand after it was all over? The online video was still going and I swear that was you.

Yep, that was me!

Oh wow! Did you say anything?

I just thanked him for his speech and told him he was an inspiration, which he really is. He said thank you.

What are the conversations in the hall like during recesses? What was your general opinion about how people were reacting to how the hearing was going off-camera?

Pretty much "this is nuts". A lot of disbelief.

Disbelief like, "I can't believe trump might have done this stuff" or disbelief like, "I can't believe this guy..."?

Former

What kind of pizza were you eating?

It was an &pizza maverick with banana peppers and spicy tomato sauce. Pretty good

How does it feel to become internet famous (though anonymously and maybe unwillingly)? Did you have friends or strangers come up to you and recognize you from the gif?

Its pretty surreal, not bad though. It'll blow over in a couple days. Everyone gets their 15 minutes

Hello hallwaypizzaguy, I hope you have a wonderful day!

thank you!! you too

what the heck is the white board behind you in your proof picture about?

just some to-do stuff and random notes

Yeah but how does building a house with asbestos lead to healthcare? Im so curious about that top line

The asbestos stuff is that I compared trying to fix the american healthcare system to trying to fix a house built with asbestos. You can tear the whole thing down and be homeless until you build a new one or fix every little piece of the wall piece by piece, take forever, and probably get cancer along the way

I could see that. What are your recommendations for the US healthcare system?

It's really complicated...I need to do more research and understand the system better or I'd be doing people a disservice by giving my recommendation

Pizza crust: eat it or leave it?

Depends. I like my pizza crusts doughy. If they're like hard breadsticks I'm gonna leave them

How have your parents reacted to your newfound fame?

They think its hilarious

Which reps we're most impressive? Why?

Elijah Cummings, Katie Hill, AOC, Ro Khanna, Mark Green. All very direct and clear, argued their points well.

I'm surprised that you mentioned Mark Green. He represents my district (Marsha Blackburn's former district) and he didn't ask any questions.

What did you find so compelling about him?

The republican angle was basically why should we trust this guy, he's a convicted perjurer. Which, to be honest, isn't that hot of a take. I thought Mark Green did the best job of laying that argument out, and I wanted to include a republican because it was a difficult problem and I wanted to acknowledge that I at least got where they were coming from even if I dont agree.

Ketchup or Mayonnaise?

mix those bad boys together

Are you aware that &Pizza is using your likeness to sell pizza? Have you considered asking them for pay?

They got permission from me, its all good. I've got no interest in making money off this

Why no tie?

I had one in my jacket pocket, I wasn't wearing it because ties are uncomfortable

Bow tie or regular?

Regular, I dont trust people who know how to tie bow ties

Is pineapple a valid pizza topping?

if you like it on your pizza its a valid pizza topping

heya, just saw you in Dailymail.

Were you aware there was a news crew in front f you or were you like F this, Im hungry?

How did you become part of the hearing?

I was definitely not aware, what you guys don't see is that that hallway was just LINED with cameras, and with reporters. People were walking around with boom mics and film stuff all over the place. So I didn't really pay any attention to the crew in front of me, I didn't realize I was on film until someone tapped me on the arm and told me.

How did you become part of the hearing?

It was open to the general public, so I got up at 5am and was one of the first in line. Couldn't miss it!

NICE on that open to the public thing. How long did you have to wait and what were the restrictions? Like no camera rule or NDA stuff.

We weren't allowed to take pictures in the hearing room, apart from that no restrictions. I waited in line for about 4-5 hours.

How do you like living in the area?

I'm a college kid, so my experience isn't the same as someone who works here, but I really like it

What was the atmosphere like in the room as the hearing was going on?

Also, I noticed a young guy walk up and shake Michael Cohen's hand at the end, was that you?

There was some downtime but overall it was pretty tense, the partisan split was very clear. There were a lot of moments where members of congress and/or Cohen were shouting over each other.

That was a friend of mine, I didn't shake Cohen's hand but I went up and shook Cummings' hand after he gave his closing remarks (which were awesome).

Did you score that summer internship?

Not yet

Where do you go to school?

Georgetown University

In this age where young people want to try and become famous through memes, were you one of those who were excited to become viral or a little embarrassed that you were filmed eating during recess?

Nah I'm happy about it. Cool experience.

Having been present at the hearing, what conclusions were you able to draw? Did your opinion change? Where did you get the pizza, and how did it taste?

It was a tough case because it's true that Cohen could be considered an unreliable witness (he was convicted of lying to congress). But he's already going to prison for three years, so his motivation for lying about this and making himself and his family a target seems very shaky. I think he's telling the truth.

Are you getting any royalties for advertising for the pizza place?

Not royalties, but they gave me some pizza gift cards

Any aspirations to work in government or are you going to run screaming in to the night?

Sure, working in government is definitely a possibility

Did the camera guy/girl say something to you after he/she filmed his/her interview? Was someone upset with you?

The guy that tapped me on the shoulder looked annoyed at first but he was smiling later. I don't think anyone was really upset with me

What is your field of study in college?

International Politics & Philosophy

Favorite philosophical work?

For political philosophy, Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation

For theology, Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica

For ethical philosophy, not sure, I'd have to think about it

That was funny. What were the toppings on that pizza?

spicy tomato, mozzarella, salami, pepperoni, italian sausage, banana peppers, bbq sauce

How are you going to monetize this?

I got some pizza gift cards from &pizza. Apart from that I'm not

have you been contacted about any book deals???

I can barely write this essay for tomorrow how am I gonna write a book

How does your 5 minutes of fame feel?

ephemeral

Were they selling &pizza there? If not, how did you get it?

Yep there's one inside the Rayburn building

Lol, that look on your face is perfect. How did you manage to get in the room?

I got up in 5am and got in line early! It's technically open to the public but only a small number of people got in

What were you doing to the pizza before you picked it up to eat?

trying to separate a piece cleanly

Why are you attending the hearing for? Is it for a class project?

For fun

What's it like being famous? Are you gonna do like any interviews on TV now?

Idk, maybe. A lot of news stations have reached out. I need to think about it.

Did you just not see the giant camera and the guy filming his part?

There were giant cameras and reporters standing everywhere, I wasn't paying attention to that film crew specifically

[deleted]

No. If you don't chase what you want you'll regret not doing it

No one seems to have asked why you're standing up and eating pizza?

Nowhere to sit

How did you come to be eating a pizza?

I was hungry and hadn't eaten all day. My friend brought me some so I left the committee room for a sec to much it

How did you get the pizza? Was if free? Are you mooching? Did you order it for delivery?

There's an &pizza inside the building we were in and a friend got me some

What is your professional opinion of pineapple on pizza?

who am I to judge what people like on their pizza

Were you star struck by anyone in particular?

Not particularly, but Elijah Cummings definitely impressed me the most

What does the whiteboard behind you mean regarding asbestos and healthcare?

just some random notes. The asbestos stuff is that I compared trying to fix the american healthcare system to trying to fix a house built with asbestos. You can tear the whole thing down and be homeless until you build a new one or fix every little piece of the wall piece by piece, take forever, and probably get cancer along the way

what are you studying? I’m a journalism major and would’ve loved to see the hearing in person

International politics!

Is water wet?

No

Were you there for extra credit?

Nope, went there because I wanted to

Seem like a cool dude, What's your major?

​

International politics :)

Where’d you get the pizza from? Was it from the Rayburn house? I heard there’s an &pizza in there.

My friend got it for me, but yep

Can a psychologist explain to me why people do this? What’s the point in pretending to be someone else, and then going on reddit to answer a few questions while posing as that person? I seriously see this all the time on here and I’m dying to know what sort of mental illness this is. I mean maybe everyone once in a while It actually is the person, but most of the time it’s just some loser... so can someone explain to me why they do it? Do they just want a little attention? Or is it something deeper than that?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

there's proof in the post my dude