A comedian quickly went viral after claiming that his New York City apartment is smaller than Axel Webber's—the TikToker who is widely known for living in the city's "smallest apartment."
Posting to TikTok last week, Ron Ervin told Webber: "Surprise, b**ch—a challenger has appeared." So far, the post has received more than 2 million views and over 314,000 likes.
"This guy has a queen-sized mattress in his apartment," said Ervin in reference to Webber. "If I brought a queen-sized mattress into my New York apartment, it would crush me to death."
To prove his point, Ervin gives viewers a "grand tour" of his apartment, which essentially looks like a hallway with a door.
"Oh you have a closet?" he asked Webber, pointing to his clothes rack. "Okay, Bill Gates. Let's sit in your BMW and talk about it sometime."
It's worth mentioning that neither Ervin's nor Webber's apartments have bathrooms. Both men have to use communal bathrooms located in their buildings. Additionally, neither New Yorker has a stove.
Almost immediately, viewers started a debate in the comments section over which apartment they thought was smaller.
"Not sure if yours is smaller, but it's definitely less space-optimized," wrote xElmo.mp4.
"You win! Dude [Webber] got nothing to post about now," said Sharky.
As it turns out, both apartments are 100 square feet, the New York Post reported.
"[My apartment] is apparently about 20 feet long and about six feet wide," Ervin revealed in a follow-up video about his feature in The Post.
He also shared that his rent, which includes the cost of utilities and internet, is $950/month.
While New York City is best known for its arts and culture, it's also known for its high cost of living. According to rental platform Zumper, the median monthly cost for a one-bedroom apartment in the city currently sits at $3,295. Meanwhile, studio apartments have a median cost of $2,816.
"Under 1,000 to live by yourself in NYC is amazing," wrote one of Ervin's viewers upon learning his monthly rent.
Of course, many of Ervin's commenters couldn't fathom paying so much for such a small space. But Ervin told the New York Post that he doesn't mind it.
"When I bring guests over, we pretty much just hang out in the backyard," he said. "We come inside for a minute to look at my tiny apartment, say, 'Oh, that's funny,' then we head back outside."
"To be completely honest, it does work for me," Ervin concluded.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sara Santora is a Newsweek reporter based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on viral social media posts and trends. ... Read more
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