The American Life people sound really crooked and Chris is a jerk, I’m sorry, he just is. Some people just wont be happy unless they’re miserable. He could have talked to Charlie, and been like hey that’s not cool man. Maybe have gotten an apology out of it. I don’t see anything that says that he ever talked to him at all actually. He just went running to a third party (that skews information) and gave his sob story about how he didn’t spend his gift cards and he had to look at them (he did spend them later on).

Is that right? You got a problem with someone and instead of telling them you hold it in inside? It would be different if he was actually troubled, but he’s just shy. Gimmie a break.

To those complete dolts who claim Chris has been emotionally scarred or any other crap you can come up with you need to find something better to do with your lives.

He was given a party and $250 worth of gift cards. Not to mention it sounds like he had a bunch of shots payed for. He was so traumatized by this incident he was mackin on one of the agents trying to get her to go home with him.

I only wish my life was that bad.

are you serious? Do you really think it’d have been BETTER if the target had been ALONE? If you knew anything about social psychology, you should know that having his own friend who’s not in on the prank would actually create LESS peer pressure, not more.
There would’ve been no way for IE to know that the friend would react positively to the ‘prank’. Besides, the friend obviously created very little pressure (if any) on ‘Ted’ to stay in the bar, since Ted and his friend did actually remove themselves from the group multiple times. They could have just as easily have left for good,

Frankly, I think TAL planned to twist the story from the get go. I’ve also heard that Chris had only found out what had happened through TAL. Consider this, if TAL wanted a negative reaction, do you think they would’ve broke the news to him in the most appropriate way? Before TAL, no one was making any negative comments about Chris at all, I just find it sad that they had to break the story in such a way that no one wins.

Imo Chris’ reaction is completely understandable and should not be criticized for it. But I’m pretty sure IE would’ve removed the story if Chris had personally requested it too. It seems that Chris have not. It’s just an idea that sounded good on paper but didn’t turn out as well. It happens.

I’m not saying that this was right, or that it was wrong for that matter. I’m saying that we probably don’t have enough information from these two sources to judge it fairly. It seems that generally (yay for the Fallacy of Insufficient Statistics!) those who found this site through TAL see this experiment negatively, while those who already new the site see it just as any other mission.

My point is that just because this site says something, it doesn’t mean that it’s all a lie to justify their actions, and just because another source says something, it doesn’t make it any truer.

Even if he didn’t realize something was up, Chris could have taken off, or continued insisting that he was not Ted. He instead embraced the moment and took advantage of all that was happening.

There’s many things inlife that can occur unexpected which can leave you hurt, traumatized, humiliated and embarassed, but those events don’t come with free drinks, cake, and over $250.

If Chris really feels that he made a wrong decision to play along, or feels like these people forced him to have fun, and accept the gifts, then it should be a relief for him to find out that it was actually for him, and he did no wrong in accepting his role.

And I don’t agree with anybody that he acted like an ass or did the wrong thing to accept the gifts, after all, everyone insisted that he take them, He never claimed to be Ted until much later on at which point most people would realize something is up and either play along or bolt.

With anything, unforseen events may occur. Positive or Negative. Some people will see things one way and some another. No matter what IE does, someone may see a dark side, regardless if its’ group or individual related. No matter what people do or say, there’s people who will disagree.

I encourage Charlie Todd and the affiliates of this event to continue moving foward and continue to create more great experiences. See you guys at the MP3 Experiment 6!

1. Peer pressure on “Ted” was (intentionally) amplified by choosing the target who was there *with HIS OWN friends*, to be used as extra “leverage” on keeping the target from walking out of the bar.
Besides, they chose an obviously young, shy-looking person, obviously not up to the par to fend off a large colluded group trained in both acting and human psychology.

2. Several commenters wrote, “He could clarify the confusion by producing his ID” – he did, and was dismissed by the “agents” as “still keeping it to get into the movies for cheaper”.

3. By providing as many clues to his identity as possible (his and his friend’s names, his area code, the school he attends), his personal details (such as alleged “chain-smoking”) and most of all permanently publishing his photos online, the organizers turned the guy into a public figure without his permission. Not only they messed with his mind, but now positioned and offered him as a free target for rude comments, armchair psychoanalyzing, name-calling (”weenie”, “wanker”, “crybaby” etc) by anyone who comes across this website. That’s a steep price to pay for “a night of friends and free drinks” – and again, he didn’t ask for it and was severely peer-pressured and manipulated into staying.
Some may say that he “chose” to go public with TAL, but this is his only way to get his side of the story heard. Also, TAL reporters may be just as publicity- and sensation-hungry as you are, and the poor guy may’ve gotten manipulated for the second time to serve somebody else’s purpose- all thanks to you guys deciding to spring “an unforgettable night” on him…gee, thanks.

4. “He got $250 free gifts” – when someone gets violated, does throwing money onto the victim afterwards justify the violation?
You ruined his evening, you put him on the spot, made a joke out of him in front of his friend and for anyone who reads this story online, you published his photos online and opened him in all kinds of comments, including nasty ones, you made sure to involve his own friend as a permanent reminder and a witness to this bizarre night…but it all doesn’t matter as you “pre-paid” for it?

Had it been my son or little brother, the organizers would’ve been sued to remove this story (and definitely, photos and personal details) from their website.
It would be another day of public fun to see if your self-made “rules” would supersede the law.