Dublin ‘Bushman’ defends street ‘prank’ amid criticism of online video business
The person who styles himself as “Bushman” to scare people in Dublin before posting the videos on social media to an audience of 1.1 million says he just wants to “make people laugh”.However, some of those who have encountered Nick Corobceanu described the experience of being targeted as upsetting and unnerving and suggested he might consider alternatives to frightening young women as an occupation.Speaking on RTÉ’s Liveline on Friday afternoon, Mr Corobceanu said disguising himself as a bush and waiting to scare people on city centre streets was his full-time job, adding that he also employed a cameraman and editor.He said his team targeted everyone, but young women feature in 22 of the last 25 posts on his Instagram account.READ MORE‘Unbelievably embarrassing’: Norway reacts to Venezuelan opposition leader giving Nobel peace medal to TrumpRyanair passenger denied boarding as he was ‘two minutes late’ for check-in is refused compensation‘You’re a left-wing hack,’ Trump press secretary tells Irish journalist Niall Stanage after ICE questionUlster Banner shows Ireland’s Call was not such a bad idea after all“We try to be as respectful as possible. I don’t scream at people,” he said. “If I had very negative feedback I wouldn’t do it,” but he claimed “99 per cent of people are liking it”.He said the cameras were “not on the next street” and were very close to him “so people can see this is recorded and that it could be definitely online”. If people asked for footage of the “prank” to be deleted he would do it without question, he said. “We pause everything. We delete, no issue, we don’t argue, we don’t try to change their mind.”Debate was sparked about his activities on Friday after an article by Irish Times columnist Brianna Parkins questioned the business of “scaring people, filming it and monetising it on the internet”.A number of people spoke on Friday expressing disquiet about what Mr Corobceanu does.[ YouTube brings in new controls for teen accountsOpens in new window ]Sinead Lawlor, who is in her 20s and lives in Dublin, said she had been targeted a few times and said it was “amazing how scary it is. “You really don’t see it coming. I’m always angry after it has happened. You might laugh in the moment but for weeks afterwards it’s mortifying and you spend so much time worrying it will go online.” The last time it happened she was with a friend and they were having a “serious and a private conversation”, she said. “We were scared he might have caught even a bit of what we were saying. He can get people at a very bad time and has no idea who he is targeting.”She said while “women probably do give the best reactions and are more likely to scream”, she questioned “how ethical it is to make your living scaring women. I know he says he deletes videos if he’s asked, but you don’t ask. You just want the ground to open up and swallow you.”Niamh Hoy, from Clontarf, is another young woman who was targeted and left shaken by the experience.“It was a couple of years ago on St Stephen’s Green. It was a miserable day and I’d missed my bus home and had a bad day in work. I was already upset and he gave me such a fright. It was the last straw and I just burst out crying. Even now, that’s so embarrassing to admit,” she said.[ Oversharing on Instagram is narcissistic. Doing it on Facebook is having a meltdownOpens in new window ]“The thing is you never know what’s going on in someone’s life and there are people walking around dealing with bereavements, or maybe really bad health news, and being scared out of nowhere is plainly unfair.”She described it as “bizarre” he had chosen this as a way to make a living. “Young women have enough to worry about when it comes to their safety and we don’t need someone hiding around the corner pretending to be a bush.“Even now when I go near that Luas stop I feel a bit on edge and that’s not a nice feeling. That’s probably not just down to him, in fairness, but it’s definitely a contributing factor and I don’t think it’s fair. He could easily just stop, and maybe try doing something else with his life.”Mr Corobceanu has been contacted by The Irish Times for comment.
