Man Gets Pride-Themed Doormat, Neighbor Writes a Letter: 'Don't Like That'
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A cheeky doormat has turned into a fully-fledged viral moment this Pride Month as a delightfully petty, and extremely gay, rivalry began in an apartment building in Ohio.
It all started when 29-year-old Clay, who didn't to share his last name, spotted a doormat outside a third-floor apartment in his building that proudly declared: "Gayest place in town."
"I don't like that at all," Clay said in a now-viral TikTok video, jokingly affronted that someone else had claimed the title of supreme gayness in the building. "Because it implies that my place is not the gayest place in town."
Thus began what Clay dubbed a "gay-off," an escalating, lighthearted showdown between neighbors to determine whose apartment is truly the gayest.
"I actually noticed the mat back in November," Clay told Newsweek. But it wasn't until this past weekend when returning from the bar that he decided to make the TikTok video where he said that he didn't like the mat.
Front left: Clay declares that he didn't like the mat and takes action with a note.
Front left: Clay declares that he didn't like the mat and takes action with a note.
@claygaiken/TikTok
It quickly gained viral attention and people couldn't get enough of the moment, and that was when people started requesting something unusual—a "gay-off."
Clay quickly ordered a competing doormat (the best he could find on short notice). He placed it at his fourth-floor apartment door, alongside a handwritten note addressed to his neighbors, taped cheekily to their doormat with a sticky note that now made the mat read: "2nd gayest place in town."
"Hello downstairs Gay-bor (s)," the letter began. "I'm writing to let you know that I find your doormat to be extremely offensive. I personally believe that MY apt is the gayest place in town and I hereby challenge you to a gay-off."
The note invited the downstairs residents to accept the challenge by placing the sticky note on his mat upstairs, and included his TikTok username for good measure.
"I really don't want to let them down," he said, referring to the thousands of viewers who had already seen the video and demanded the "gay-off."
It didn't take long. Less than 24 hours later, the neighbors replied with their own note, simply stating: "Hi Gay-boy, we have no clue what this entails but it sounds gay, so naturally we are in—Cara & Lauren." And with that, the "gay-off" was on.
From left: The neighbors work to one-up each other with a rainbow-streamer curtain and a cheeky note.
From left: The neighbors work to one-up each other with a rainbow-streamer curtain and a cheeky note.
@claygaiken/TikTok
Since then, the two apartments have been one-upping each other in increasingly flamboyant fashion, rainbow streamers and other Pride-themed decoration. There have been TikTok updates, and what Clay describes as "content-fed warfare," even relying on a third-party "third-floor spy" to monitor the opposition while Clay is out of town.
Clay has been documenting the saga for his growing TikTok audience. "It's both of our first gay-off," he said. "And it doesn't come with an instruction manual, so we're figuring it out as we go."
TikTok briefly flagged the video for "hateful behavior," but quickly reversed the decision after Clay appealed. Since then, the comment section has been filled with joy, support, and rampant speculation.
"Everyone assumed the other apartment belonged to a gay man and hoped for an 'enemies to lovers' situation," Clay said. "But I had a strong suspicion it was lesbians. I mean, I used to joke that the third floor was the lesbian floor."
So far, Team Lesbian is winning—at least according to TikTok polls. "Not surprising," Clay said. "I really don't stand a chance against two lesbians, but I'm gonna give it my best gay shot."
Clay plans to post his next move soon, and the gay-off is expected to last through Pride Month—June—if not longer.
In the end, what started as a petty doormat rivalry has turned into something much more joyful. "This has totally warmed my heart," Clay said. "The fact that I posted this dumb little joke, and it blew up without a single negative comment, it means a lot."
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