One Direction Fans Can Make Anyone Famous -- And They Chose Jerry The Lamp Builder

In a post-#AlexFromTarget world, literally nothing about Internet fame should surprise you anymore. But one subset of teens on Twitter, the all-mighty One Direction fandom, just found a new, equally-random Twitter icon in Jerry Riekert, aka @jrtoh15, a 50-year-old dad from Long Island who makes lamps and kind of likes One Direction.

On Sunday night, the unsuspecting dad tweeted:

I'm not a fan of One Direction being a 50 year old man and all but they can actually sing #amas

— Jerry Riekert (@jrtoh15) November 24, 2014

Directioners noticed his tweet after One Direction's AMA performance and responded appropriately:

“@jrtoh15: I'm not a fan of One Direction being a 50 year old man and all but they can actually sing #amas” thank you dad.

— allouena (@harrylouiszjm) November 24, 2014

“@jrtoh15: I'm not a fan of One Direction being a 50 year old man and all but they can actually sing #amas” LOVE YOU JERRY

— weezy¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (@5SECONDSOFWEEZY) November 24, 2014

Jerry couldn't have been more surprised:

how did the one direction fans find me I'm just a simple man from New York who makes lamps

— Jerry Riekert (@jrtoh15) November 24, 2014

Sure the lamp man was trying to play it cool. But there's evidence of his fandom dating back to December:

Hate to say it but one direction were pretty good but what's up with that one kid with the twinkle toe boots #snl

— Jerry Riekert (@jrtoh15) December 8, 2013

Naturally, this time around, it didn't take long for @jrtoh15 to get some meme-ified:

@jrtoh15 #AMAs #OneDirection pic.twitter.com/gpXEdjhU0G

— Drew Kenyon (@DrewKenyon) November 24, 2014

He built us lamps when no one else would. #jerrythelampbuilder

— Jerry the (@lampbuilder) November 24, 2014

And while @jrtoh15 is just becoming familiar with the wonders of One Direction, he clearly already knows how Twitter fame works. Proof? Here he is, with a little casual self-promotion:

here are some of my lamps I made opinions and critiques welcome 1 directioner fans pic.twitter.com/60dI6WL8Wr

— Jerry Riekert (@jrtoh15) November 24, 2014

He even offered to meet the 1D-ers halfway, in the form of: One Direction lamps!

any ideas for a one direction inspired lamp? I don't know much about them I just know how to make lamps

— Jerry Riekert (@jrtoh15) November 25, 2014

Loyal-ish fans of @jrtoh15 are freaking out, of course:

"@jrtoh15: I am famous at work now :) thank you one directioners" oNE DIRECTIONERS IM LITERALLY CRYING

— sil,,! (@stratfordrugs) November 25, 2014

And loving his adorable dad-like cluelessness:

“@jrtoh15: I am famous at work now :) thank you one directioners” Jerry it's just "directioners"

— Magdalena Wilk (@wilk_magdalena) November 25, 2014

Long live weird Internet fandom, where a simple dad and his lamps can rise to fame overnight.

h/t Buzzfeed

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