'Prankster' films Ellen 'dance dare' behind NYPD cops, gets literal pushback

&#039;Prankster&#039; films Ellen &#039;dance dare&#039; behind NYPD cops, gets literal pushback

(Image credit: Alexander BOK/YouTube)

There's a fine line between viral stunt and harassment — as self-described "prankster" Alexander Bok discovered on Christmas Eve. Four days after two New York Police officers were shot dead in an ambush by a mentally unstable man, Bok snuck up behind two NYPD officers and danced "Gangnam Style." When the cops noticed, they pushed him up against their van, threw some insults his way, then appear to have thrown him to the ground as he walked away. Bok's assistant captured the encounter on video.

Bok was responding to a "dance dare" from Ellen DeGeneres, who called for Ellen DeGeneres Show "viewers to sneak up behind perfect strangers" and "dance behind them without them knowing it," tape their "dance dare" antics, and send them into the show.

It sounds kind of fun, but you can watch how unnerving the "dance dare" can be in practice in the first two and a half minutes of Bok's full video (the police confrontation starts at the 2:29 mark, right before the ominous music starts). Or you can just watch the NYPD part. Now that the video is, in fact, going viral, the NYPD is looking into the incident, TMZ reported Tuesday. You can make your own judgment after watching Bok in action. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.