Have you seen the video of a man in a hammock on a bus? It was staged.
You may have seen it. A video circulating on social media capturing a man in a hammock on board a city bus refusing to take it down at the bus driver's request.
"Where's the no hammock sign?' the man wearing a red hoodie is heard saying in the video while stretched out in a blue hammock attached to two silver grab bars inside the bus behind the driver's seat.
It was a staged skit, according to its creators.
The original post source is from Facebook users Lexi and Ocean, a newly married couple "making amazing videos" whose Facebook page had more than 30K followers as of Wednesday.
"This video was made for entertainment purposes only," the couple captioned in a May 1 post on their page with the video which as of Wednesday afternoon had been liked more than 133,000 times.
Although the couple did not share the skit's shooting location, in a separate live video post on Monday, they explained why they created the skit, recorded and shared it with the world.
Apology issued:Thomas Jefferson University goes viral after announcer mispronounces names at graduation
"It was a really fun video to make and we really enjoy sharing these wacky moments," Ocean, who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, says in the Monday post. "Did you see the seen where I'm spinning around like an anaconda?"
Here's what the video shows, and what it's creators have to say about the skit:
What does the hammock on bus video show?
The video depicts a bus driver, standing in front of the hammock, telling the man to get out of the hammock and take it down.
"If you don't come out of the bag I'm calling the police," the driver says.
"No," he chirps, then spins around in the hammock like a giant, fat snake wrapping around prey.
“There's AC in here and I'm not moving," he says at one point.
"What the..." one alleged bus passenger on the video is heard saying. "Can you get down so we can get where we are going? Get down!"
Hammock guy revealed: 'It's me! I'm him'
In a nearly 45 minute live video posted on their Facebook page, Ocean introduces himself and his new bride, Lexi, and reiterate it is only a skit.
"You guys would not believe how many people are sending me this video of this man, in a hammock on a public bus! It's me! I'm him," Ocean revealed in the Monday Facebook post. "You guys are talking about me."
USA TODAY has reached out to the couple.
Florida bus crash:8 killed, dozens injured when bus carrying farmworkers crashes, overturns in Florida
Hammock video confuses the internet
The video, shared on multiple online social media platforms in recent weeks, drew swift reaction from people.
One Instagram user posted the video along with the hashtag #nycmta, #newyorkersbelike,#nycsubway, #nyctribe and captioned it, "why r u late today?” me. “an aggressive hammock situation.”
Some users on the social media platform assumed it was shot in New York City, while others voiced it clearly was not.
"Thank you mayor Adams and mayor deblazio you created these situations, the place is a zoo animals running around wild and lawless," one person wrote.
Immediately below that comment someone wrote, "Real NYers know very well that this is not a nyc bus."
Some Facebook users who commented on the original on the couple's page stepped into defend hammock man.
"I fully support this man," one person commented on original post. "The government eats our tax money, does nothing for its people suffering, and people wanna gang up on a guy trying to sleep in safety instead of under a bridge where someone can rob him."
Costume shindig:Minnesota couple celebrates state's new flag with a Statehood Day party
Why did Ocean and Lexi make the hammock man video?
Although they do not reveal their last name or say whether other people on board are actors, in their updated post about the video, the couple explains why they made it.
"I have always hated how upright and stringent those seats are in buses and airplanes... why isn't there a sleeping option. A mappable option," Ocean explains.
"I really like hammocks, how they lay and how comfy you are in them," he says. "I checked city ordinances, I looked for any signs on the bus, and there was no sign that said no hammocks."
So they staged a skit, they say.
"The bus driver eventually saw what I'm doing," Ocean says. "It's summer time here, hence why I was hiding in the cool AC."
As of Wednesday afternoon, the couple's video had been shared more than 49K times on Facebook.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.