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The Empire State Building, the crown jewel of NYC, is getting real sassy on TikTok.
The 92-year-old skyscraper has its own "clock app" account these days (who doesn't?) and those running it have taken playful jabs at other skyscrapers in NYC and in other big cities.
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The main target of the Empire State Building's ire is 432 Park Avenue, the supertall skyscraper that's infamous for being expensive and—according to The New York Times—allegedly plagued by floods, faulty elevators, and electrical explosions.
In its trash-talking TikToks, the ESB itself (outfitted with eyes and a mouth) disses the Park Avenue skyscraper. Sometimes two young staffers in uniform, who go by Bestie #1 and Bestie #2, join in on the hate. In one video from February 17, Bestie #2 points at 432 Park Avenue and lip-syncs to, "Ladies and gentlemen, the very sexy, Garbage," a sound clip from when Drew Barrymore introduced the band Garbage on SNL.
@empirestatebldg Garbage but make it ✨sexy✨ #newyork #nyc #empirestatebuilding ♬ original sound - Jason Barnes
On December 20, the account used a sound clip from Tyra Bank's America's Next Top Model saying, "It is so bad I want to give you a zero, but that's not possible, so I give you a one." The TikTok features a picture of the building itself before showing 432 Park. The caption? "It looks like a Jenga block."
@empirestatebldg It looks like a jenga block #empirestatebuilding #newyork ♬ original sound - 🌟
On March 15, it posted a similar video using the song that Frollo sings to Quasimodo in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame about being deformed and ugly, switching between the two buildings.
@empirestatebldg At least it’s self aware 🤷🏻♀️ #empirestatebuilding #nyc #newyork #hunchbackofnotredame #sorrynotsorry ♬ original sound - user5327724814018
And just one day ago, the account used a sound clip from SpongeBob SquarePants where it called 432 Park Avenue stupid. In the caption, it says "Raise your hand if you've ever been personally victimized by 432 Park."
@empirestatebldg Raise your hand if you’ve ever been personality victimized by 432 Park 🤚 #nyc #newyork #empirestatebuilding ♬ Keep using this sound_Yall rock - That Tiktok Teacher
The shade is savage, but people are here for it. One commenter wrote, "Why has this account genuinely made me want to go to the empire state building?"
Others say they are "living for the slander" and that they'll "only go to NYC if the empire state building is this sassy in person."
The Space Needle in Seattle even got called out in a video from March 8 with the famous quote from the 1998 Parent Trap where Annie tells Hallie that she has class and Hallie doesn't. The Edge at Hudson Yards got bashed on March 7 in a video when Bestie #1 lip syncs to a manipulated version of Owl City's "Fireflies" that simply says "I'd like to leave."
@empirestatebldg There is no beating the classics #empirestatebuilding #nyc #newyork ♬ original sound - Jacob Sutherland
The Chrysler Building, built in 1930 around the same time as the ESB, seems to be the only skyscraper left unscathed.
Representatives of the Empire State Building declined to comment on the TikToks, sadly, but they told CNN last month that they wanted to "humanize the building so it hired new creatives to beef up the account and continue the beef with other skyscrapers." They also told the New York Post that the building's followers shot up 400 percent since October.
ESB's TikTok now has more than 320,000 followers and over 11.3 million likes.
If you'd like to follow for the tea, you can watch ESB's TikToks right here.
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