The actor behind The Unknown character in the catastrophic Willy Wonka experience has been unmasked as a 16-year-old girl.
If you've been online recently, you'll be aware of the Willy's Chocolate Experience which was held in Glasgow, Scotland last weekend.
Inspired by the Roald Dahl character and the recent Wonka movie, the website from the event advertised it as indulging "in a chocolate fantasy like never before," adding: "Capture the enchantment."
However, it turned out to be a spectacular failure as parents who paid £35 ($44) for a ticket were met with a near-empty warehouse, actors with AI-written scripts, low-resolution Candyland posters pinned to walls, and tearful kids offered a couple of jelly babies.
Check out some memes from the event:While there was very little sweet candy in sight, a new mysterious character named The Unknown was introduced into the plot of the experience. The story behind the disturbing character is that they are an evil chocolate maker that lives in the walls of the factory.
A viral video on X (formerly Twitter) shows them sporting a black cloak and silver mask, revealing themselves from behind a mirror as a group of kids squeal in horror.
After days of people discussing the true identity of the bizarre entity, a 16-year-old girl - who goes by the handle @felicia.wishes - came forward on TikTok to reveal it was actually her under the mask.
Watch The Unkown reveal below:
In a three-part TikTok series, the actress revealed that the role was her first-ever paid acting gig, sharing: "So I was approached by the House of Illuminati and I was supposed to be cast as one of the Wonkas," she said while donning her iconic mask. She passed on the lead role after she "did not like" the script that she had been given, and was recast to play The Unknown.
In a second video, Felicia went in-depth about her experience playing the black-caped character. "So on the day of the actual event we just got told to ditch the script and just improvise," she revealed. "And the only direction I got given was to act creepy.
"So I tried to imagine what a man living in the walls would be like," the actress continued, showing the now-viral footage that propelled her into the upper echelons of internet stardom. "Some people loved it, some people hated it, some were left traumatized. Some people had no clue what was going on, including myself."
Felicia opened up about the commotion surrounding her first-ever job with BBC and said that she had a great time despite initially feeling embarrassed.
"At first I was really embarrassed about it. But when we went to the pub after, we were just laughing about it," she told the outlet. "It was so ridiculous it was actually funny. And now it’s become viral, it’s genuinely life-changing and I’m really happy I did it.
"Everybody loves the character and posting about it, so it makes me happy that people can see the funny side," she continued. "There weren’t any rehearsals. I got there early to practice but it hadn’t been set up."
Stuart Sinclair, a father who drove two hours with his three kids and paid $44 a ticket for the event, spoke to CBS News about his experience, sharing that the organizers did a "very, very poor job" of decorating it.
"It was all described as a massive immersive experience, great idea for the kids, chocolate fountains... Just sounded really, really good, a nice day for the children and the family," he said. "And when we got there, as you can see by the pictures and stuff, it just was not that at all. There were four or five props, a few jelly beans for the kids. Half a cup of lemonade. Just was not what was promised whatsoever."
Sinclair shared that his oldest children found it humorous but his four-year-old daughter - who was dressed as Willy Wonka for the occasion - was really upset, adding: "She was telling all her teachers beforehand how she was going to meet Willy Wonka and it didn't really pan out like that."
According to The New York Post, the House of Illuminati shared a now-deleted apology statement, acknowledging that the experience failed to meet expectations.
"Unfortunately last minute we were let down in many areas of our event and tried our best to continue on and push through and now realize we probably should have canceled first thing this morning instead," the statement reportedly said.
Billy Coull, the director of the House of Illuminati, blamed the disaster on "holographic technology" not arriving on time: "My vision of the artistic rendition of a well-known book didn’t come to fruition," per STV News.
"For that, I am absolutely truly and utterly sorry," he said. "There was every intention to hold the event, from the pictures, despite not being in the best light; hopefully you’ll be able to see that there was every intention to hold the event."
