Nobody is trapped inside Chicago’s Bean sculpture, officials insist after protesters claim someone has been stuck in there for 21 years

Chicago officials have insisted that nobody is trapped inside the world-famous Bean sculpture, after protestors went viral for claiming that someone has been stuck inside for 21 years. 

Footage taken from Chicago’s Millennium Park, home of The Bean, showed a group of mock protestors clamouring for the release of the ‘man in the Bean.’

The satirical troupe, all of whom were holding signs and wearing black clothes, were heard shouting: ‘There is a man in there. There is a man in the Bean’. 

The group accused, without merit, artist Anish Kapoor, the creator of Cloud Gate, the Bean’s actual name, of kidnapping a child and placing it inside the sculpture to live ‘in complete isolation.’

One protestor said: ‘There is a man trapped inside the Bean. We’re calling for his immediate release. In 2004 Anish Kapoor, the chief architect of the bean, stole a baby and put that baby inside the bean. 

‘We are calling for the immediate release of the man trapped inside the bean.’

The stunt has gone so viral that Chicago officials were forced to deny the accusations, and begged people to stop inundating them with calls about the Bean. 

Alderman Brendan Reilly, who represents Chicago’s 42nd ward that is home to the bean, told local media: ‘I am happy to confirm that a man has not been trapped inside “Cloud Gate” (a.k.a “the Bean”) for the past 21 years.’

Chicago officials have insisted that nobody is trapped inside the world-famous Bean sculpture, after protestors went viral for claiming that someone has been stuck inside for 21 years (File image)

He said that while he appreciates a ‘lighthearted parody as much as the next guy’, the sheer number of calls his office has taken about the man in the Bean is preventing them from carrying out ‘the real work we do for the 42nd Ward and City of Chicago.’ 

Despite official protests, Chicagoans seem to be loving the stunt. 

Marisol Nuñez told Block Club Chicago after her video of the group went viral: ‘It makes me happy [that] people find it funny and even add onto the joke.’ 

Karen Jessica Dorado, who works in a nearby shop, told the outlet: ‘This is actually so unique, and I’m so amazed on how their brains work to put this protest together.’ 

So far, Anish Kapoor has not broken his silence over the stunt. The Daily Mail has contacted Kapoor for comment. 

Cloud Gate is a 100-tonne structure made from 168 highly-polished stainless steel plates that are formed in the shape of a bean. 

Kapoor was inspired by liquid mercury to create the 66ft long and 33ft high shape.