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If you ever make it as an internet sensation, there's a great chance you'll be summoned by Ellen DeGeneres. Alex Lee, better known as #AlexFromTarget, was invited to the show after a photograph of him bagging groceries had gone viral, resulting in his eponymous hashtag to be tweeted over one million times. Hearts were broken when news surfaced that a marketing company called Breakr Nation was behind Alex's rise to fame. Alex's response?
My family and I have never heard of this company.
— DGM_Alex (@acl163) November 5, 2014
Not even his family! @auscalum, a tweeter of the image also chimed in:
i dont work for breakr wtf i dont even know what it is
— ⠀ (@auscalum) November 4, 2014
obviously im not fake, i just reposted a photo i saw on tumblr
— ⠀ (@auscalum) November 5, 2014
After some investigation, Buzzfeed found that the original tweeter was in fact Brooklyn R., who was told she just had to check out Alex by Alanna P. That's what friends are for, to tell you when the hot cashier is on duty at your local Target. So the marketing stunt claim was just a marketing stunt on top of another, because it's 2014. All of this, of course, smacks of still more conspiracy theories that claim it's indeed a marketing ploy, and that Ellen is in on it.
And yet, it's still enjoyable to watch this adorably awkward teen share some laughs with the talk show host.