Only in New Orleans would a petty complaint turn into a full-blown bubble-themed protest.
This past Sunday, May 18, people gathered in the French Quarter—not for a parade, not for Mardi Gras—but to defend a bar’s bubble machine.
The reason? Earlier in the week, Cafe Du Monde Vice President Burt Benrud went on local station WGNO and threatened to sue MRB, a nearby bar, because its bubble machine occasionally sends a few floating orbs in the direction where he lives, according to the Gambit.
“I’d like to enjoy my property, you know, and sit out on my balcony and have a cocktail without having to worry about a bubble landing on my drink,” Benrud reportedly told the station.
Benrud also expressed concern that the bubbles might mess with his Porsche SUV, which he parks across the street on St. Philip.
Locals weren’t having it. So, in true New Orleans fashion, they showed up—with bubbles.
What did the protest look like?
TikTok creator @olsenventures (Chris Olsen) posted a video from the protest that got over 300,000 views.
In the video, the scene looked less like a protest and more like a party—complete with music, costumes, and, of course, bubbles everywhere.
“Some rich dude in the Quarter threatened to sue a local bar over their bubble machine blowing bubbles on his Porsche,” Olsen wrote in the text overlay of his video. “So the French Quarter reacted! Hundreds of people came out yesterday to blow bubbles in front of his house and tell him—don’t move to New Orleans if you don’t like fun.”
@olsenventures Bubble protest! #frenchquarter #nola #neworleans #bubbles ♬ original sound – Chris Olsen
The commenters chimed in, too
Under the video, commenters shared their support for MRB—and their confusion over the whole ordeal.
“Trying to legislate bubbles???” one person asked.
Another compared it to city folks moving to the country and suddenly hating rural life.
“Exactly,” they wrote. “Also, city people who move to the country complain about livestock odor, lack of convenience, driving behind tractors… and then wanna change it.”
And someone asked the obvious, “What’s he gonna do about Mardi Gras?” They added, “Lol the French Quarter isn’t for the quiet life.”
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
