Viral Jeffrey Epstein lookalike announces run for Palm Beach mayor, promises free Botox and bagels
A viral internet lookalike, free Botox and imported New York bagel water are not usually the ingredients of a mayoral campaign.Peter Simel, the Florida man who went viral earlier this...
By Fox News · Fox News
A viral internet lookalike, free Botox and imported New York bagel water are not usually the ingredients of a mayoral campaign. Peter Simel, the Florida man who went viral earlier this year as "Palm Beach Pete" over his uncanny resemblance to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, says he is now "seriously considering" a run for mayor of Palm Beach — with a platform centered around "living your best life." Simel's social media following exploded into the hundreds of thousands after a viral video sparked conspiracy theories online, described the effort as "a movement" during an interview with Fox News Digital. "We’re seriously considering, and it’s a movement," Simel said. "We want to make Palm Beach really cool and great." FLORIDA MAN MISTAKEN FOR JEFFREY EPSTEIN SENDS INTERNET INTO FRENZY: ‘I’M JUST ME BEING ME’ Simel’s internet fame exploded almost overnight after a video of him driving a convertible along Interstate 95 in South Florida spread online earlier this year, with stunned social media users insisting the silver-haired driver looked eerily similar to Epstein . In the now-viral clip, a person filming Simel can be heard shouting, "Epstein’s alive! Epstein’s alive!" "My name is Peter, and I am now 'Palm Beach Pete' on the internet," Simel told Fox News Digital. "About two months ago, I was driving down I-95 and someone videoed me and said ‘Epstein’s alive.’" NEW YORK-STYLE BAGEL WATER WARS HEAT UP AS ICONIC BRANDS BATTLE FOR SNOWBIRDS The Palm Beach resident said the attention snowballed almost immediately. "We had 200,000 followers in less than two days, and I got deplatformed," he said. "This whole thing occurred, and it has a mind of its own, the internet." Simel later launched an Instagram account under the handle "@not.epstein" and began leaning into the viral fame that transformed him into an unlikely internet personality. 'MEMBERS ONLY: PALM BEACH' STAR SLAMS ‘NASTY’ RUMORS THAT SHE'S BEING KICKED OUT OF MAR-A-LAGO Simel, 71, is a former International…