A lot of people have been bringing their best wordplay for the “Don’t Leave Me” challenge on social media and it’s exactly the type of dry humor we like.
It all started with an Instagram post from Josh Alfred, aka Josh2funny. Josh is an entertainer from Lagos, Nigeria, who originally posted the video back in March. In his short clip, the 29-year-old joked that he was “on leave” while standing on a leaf. Then his hype man replied with a response that gave the challenge its name.
“I was just playing around with the word ‘leaf’ and ‘leave’ in my pun skit,” he said in a statement with BuzzFeed News. “At the end of the video, my hype man Bello Kreb was shouting ‘Don’t leave me’ and that’s what people heard and picked it up.”
The video gathered a life of its own months later after it was parodied in Zimbabwe. Different versions began to gather more and more views and then in June, it exploded.
The hilarious execution of the challenge has been recreated across social media with friends and families all delivering their best play on words, and Alfred is enjoying all of them.
Watch the original video below
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-HNbJ-nUyK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The Nigerian entertainer regularly creates comedy skits for his 1.5 million followers on Instagram. He is the creator of the popular expressions – “All my guyz are ballerz” and “Think Aboutit”. The “Don’t Leave Challenge” is his first moment to capture a global audience.
Alfred is one of a flourishing generation of comedians in Africa’s most populous country. He has gained widespread popularity, largely through skits posted online.
“I’ve always had the ability to make people laugh unintentionally and so everybody around me had been advising me that I should do comedy professionally.” He said.
From church performances and the occasional party booking, Alfred was encouraged to take his talents online. He has been growing his audience with consistent content, memorable characters, and now the “Don’t Leave Me” challenge.
Many of Alfred’s supporters have tried to highlight his role in the challenge, he said. He even released a song to spice up his viral challenge titled “Don’t Leave Me“.
“Comedy is my life, it’s what I love,” the 29-year-old said. “Seeing my videos be shared and people all over the world doing their versions, it’s incredible.”
“People see us in a very casual way, like we’re just playing around on the net. It gets to me actually because I’ve spent time thinking and studying internet comedy,” Alfred said. “Attention is important for us. I believe we creators should be given more respect for the joy we give others.”
Easily accessible online comedy is a precious reprieve for millions of people, particularly during a pandemic, Alfred said. “It is such a hard time around the world that I think comedy has benefited. People need to laugh and forget what is going on.”
Also Read: “Don’t Rush” – The Biggest Challenge During Lockdown
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