A strange man was spotted this morning atop the Empire State Building doing his best King Kong impression. That man was Jared Leto. Before you point out that he is very famous, this doesn’t change the fact that he is also extremely strange.
Leto took an elevator to the 86th floor, then climbed outside to the 102nd floor, which is the very top floor. Only the antenna stood above him atop the skyscraper. Coincidentally, I also once took an elevator to the 86th floor there and walked to the top, so Jared and I are not that very far apart in our building- ascension experiences. The biggest difference is that he was likely very thankful to Mother Nature for the absence of lightning.
Videos of Jared Leto climbing the historic building were posted all over social media, starting with Empire State Building account itself — yes, the building has social media. Leto then descended — though I’d prefer he stay up there — in time to have a chat with the hosts of NBC’s Today Show.
Leto loves rock climbing, once telling Jimmy Fallon that he often practices it without any harness, which I consider to be very questionable behavior. I sometimes do this as well with a rock in my backyard, though it’s worth noting that rock is about seven feet tall.
Jared did have a purpose for climbing the Empire State Building, which rather “peaked” my interest. I had figured that all of this was just because he wanted to show his love for rock climbing, or building climbing, as it is. He even said he would like to climb more buildings. Al Roker told him to just use an elevator.
Then, I wondered if he was about to announce a new King Kong movie with him in the lead role. Once I realized how foolish that is, partly because of his box office bombs, I figured it must be to raise awareness for something. Maybe raise money for a charity, the way celebrity runners do. Of course, he can pledge a ton of money to get things started. I would pledge money for him to stay up there.
Then Jared informed the world of his major announcement. He and his band, 30 Seconds to Mars, are going on tour. That’s it. He’s touring. The tour starts next Spring/Summer. It’s not a building climbing tour. It’s a rock tour. Though, it would be funny it was a rock climbing tour.
So, Jared Leto climbed the Empire State Building for one reason: Publicity. It just so happens to be the one thing he doesn’t really need.