Is there a man trapped inside The Bean? 

No, there isn’t. But that hasn’t stopped a group of dedicated pranksters from saying there is — and the claim has spread like wildfire on social media. 

In recent days, videos of people calling for the release of “the man trapped in The Bean” have been shared thousands of times on TikTok and Instagram. The chaos started on July 31, when a group dressed all in black gathered near the Bean (the more familar moniker of the officially titled “Cloud Gate”) in Millennium Park. They held up signs calling for the release of “the man in the Bean.”

The videos caused many to laugh — and others to become very confused. Ald. Brendan Reilly, whose 42nd ward is home to the Bean, said his office has been inundated with calls about a man trapped in the sculpture.

“I am happy to confirm that a man has not been trapped inside ‘Cloud Gate’ (a.k.a ‘the Bean’) for the past 21 years,” Reilly wrote in a statement. While he said he appreciates a “lighthearted parody as much as the next guy,” the increase in calls regarding the matter is distracting from “the real work we do for the 42nd Ward and City of Chicago.”

One video was posted by Marisol Nuñez, a recent college graduate who said she was “super confused” about the protest. 

“I started recording thinking it was something unusual worth capturing,” Nuñez told Block Club. She was shocked the video got so much attention. “It makes me happy [that] people find it funny and even add onto the joke.” 

Nuñez’s video,  which has over 300,000 likes and over 3,500 comments, shows the group chanting, calling for the “immediate release” of the man “trapped” in the Bean. They go as far as accusing artist Anish Kapoor, the chief architect of “Cloud Gate,” of stealing a baby in 2004 and putting it inside the Bean, a ridiculous claim that has no merit. 

But those who are in on the joke aren’t backing down. The @maninbean Instagram account now has over 27,000 followers dedicated to the hoax.

“There is a man trapped inside the bean,” the demonstrators, who call themselves The Man in Bean Coalition, wrote.

Karen Jessica Dorado, who works at a souvenir shop in Millennium Park, said she saw videos of the demonstrations on TikTok and thought they were “hilarious.” “This is actually so unique, and I’m so amazed on how their brains work to put this protest together,” she said. 

Kapoor, who has accepted that his sculpture initially dubbed “Cloud Gate” has been renamed “The Bean” by Chicagoans, did not respond to a request for comment.