April 05, 2023
Amid the roaring St. Patrick's Day festivities at McGillin's Olde Ale House, an elaborate ruse was afoot as a patron claiming to be Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi attempted to cut the long line.
While the poser didn't get special treatment from the staff of Philly's oldest continuously-operating tavern, they did believe his story enough to take photos with him and post them to social media, where they soon found out they'd been duped.
The real Capaldi had spent St. Paddy's Day in Scotland, but he ironically found himself in Philadelphia this week for a concert, and he had some hilarious responses to his doppelgänger.
As the Grammy-nominated "Someone You Loved" singer spoke with Philadelphia radio stations ahead of his sold-out performance at The Met on Tuesday, the conversation naturally turned toward his lookalike.
Michael Bennett of 96.5 TDY broached the topic of Capaldi's "impersonator lurking around the city of Philadelphia." Capaldi first acted surprised, before realizing he had caught wind of the incident.
"Do you know what? I think I saw this," Capaldi said, before adding: "An unfortunate look that man has."
Bennett told Capaldi that the poser had taken photos, which was true. He also told Capaldi the impersonator received free drinks and cut the line, which the McGillin's staff denies.
"Listen, hey, sometimes it pays to be an ugly motherf***er," Capaldi said with a laugh. "I'm joking, he's a handsome man, he looks just like me."
OMG! Love it!
— McGillin's (@McGillins) April 5, 2023
For the record, the doppelganger did NOT get free drinks or cut the line. He did take photos with our servers. And he's not NEARLY as good-looking as the real @LewisCapaldi! https://t.co/C7Wc013IVU
The hilarity continued when Bex and Buster of Q102 spoke with Capaldi ahead of his concert.
"To that man, I can only say I'm sorry that you are too as ugly as I am," Capaldi joked.
After learning from the radio hosts that McGillin's did not actually hook up the faux-Capaldi with free drinks and a special entrance, Capaldi said:
"Okay cool, it's good to know I'm not that big yet ... not big enough for free sh*t."
Just like Capaldi, the McGillin's staff was also able to laugh at the St. Paddy's fiasco, which involved a second conspirator who pretended to be Capaldi's assistant.
This photo was taken at McGillin's, 1310 Drury St., on St. Patrick's Day of two employees posing with a man who claimed to be Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi.
"So yeah, it's kind of all falling apart, layer by layer," Chris Mullins, Jr., who owns McGillin’s with his parents, said a few days after the incident. "It's kind of embarrassing. And, you know, we have our fair share of celebrities (visiting McGillin's). But we'll have to do a better job of like, validating them ... 163 years (in business); we're still learning."
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