Leon the Lobster

Submission 7,369

Part of a series on Animals. [View Related Entries]

About

Leon the Lobster is a spiny or red lobster who was purchased from a grocery store by YouTuber Brady Brandwood to be kept as a pet. In late 2021, the video about the lobster went viral on YouTube, with Bradwood continuing to post updates about Leon in the following months. The lobster achieved virality in late 2021 and early 2022, with users on social media discussing it and reporting that they felt engaged in its story.

Origin

On October 31st, 2021, documentary YouTuber^[1] Brady Brantwood uploaded a video titled "Keeping A Grocery Lobster As A Pet." In the video, Brantwood told a story of purchasing a lobster in a grocery store for the purpose of helping it to rehabilitate and keep it as a pet. In the video, Brandwood buys a lobster, names it "Leon" and then discusses setting up its initial habitat and the characteristics of Leon (seen below).

I have no idea if it's male or female. Right now, though, I'm calling it Leon. Leon the Lobster. Later, if I found it's female, I'm gonna call it Leona.

The video achieved viral success in the second half of December 2021,^[2]^[3] in large part due to YouTube's recommendation algorithm. The video accumulated over 16.6 million views in five months.

Spread

Following the virality of the video, Brandwood continued to upload more videos about the lobster in the following months. On December 21st, 2021, the YouTuber^[4] posted the first update video, titled, "How Is Leon?," which received over 6.3 million views on YouTube in three months (shown below, left). On January 13th, 2022, Brandwood uploaded^[5] a video about relocating Leon to a larger tank, which accumulated over 3.7 million views in three months (shown below, right).

More videos about the lobster were posted in February and March 2022 (shown below, left and right).^[6]^[7]^[8]

I've been fascinated with Leon's recovery and how he's adapted to a new environment, and the relationship we formed. We're not best buds, and he's not gonna climb on the sofa and watch TV with me like the cats do, but he's a lot of fun to have around. I don't know if he's enjoying a safe environment and regular food or if I've just enjoyed having him around and watching him and observing him. Who is to say which is more beneficial?

The viral spread of Brandwood's videos about Leon the Lobster is reflected in both comments on YouTube and in posts on other social media platforms, primarily Twitter. For example, a comment shared by YouTuber^[9] Chris Latta in December 2021 received over 100,000 likes in roughly three months (shown below).