How one comedian went viral with a Las Vegas Sphere filter

After the Sphere grabbed the world’s attention with its Fourth of July show, the internet has been buzzing with memes and edited photos of the Sphere, as people imagine what they would broadcast on its spherical face.

Multiple Instagram and TikTok Sphere filters have emerged that allow people to put their face, cat or favorite TV show clip on the Sphere’s Exosphere screen.

Comedian Zachary Barker took the filter and ran with it.

After Barker found a Sphere filter while scrolling through TikTok and saw the Sphere’s giant eyeball display, he started thinking, “What would a giant, ominous Sphere talk and sound like?”

Early videos in the “orb” series depict the Sphere accosting Las Vegas visitors for illegal and debaucherous behavior, with comment sections full of fans pleading for more “orb” content.

“It started as this authoritarian, all-watching, all-seeing eye, so I just figured, ‘If the orb was a giant, ever-watching, police state thing, what would it be looking out for?’”

He posted his first video with the filter on July 10, which has since racked up over 700,000 views on the platform. In total, Barker has posted 10 Sphere filter videos as of Thursday, which have accumulated a total of 3.7 million views on TikTok.

“Every time I post something, I expect it to do horrible because I’ve been scorned by TikTok time and time again where I think I’ve come up with something brilliant, and then it gets no views or no likes,” Barker said. “But I was pleasantly surprised. It’s been nice — the ball’s been rolling, no pun intended.”

@mrzack123 Replying to @Sadgang the orb has been swindled!!! #theorb #lasvegas #lasvegastiktok #lasvegassphere #vegastiktok ♬ Oblivion - Grimes

‘Losing my identity’

Barker began posting comedy videos and songs to TikTok in 2020 after he moved from Boston to Los Angeles to expand his comedy career.

He formed a comedy music group with two friends called Tall Boy Special, but not being able to go out and perform due to the pandemic left him looking for other creative outlets, he said.

“I (moved) right before the pandemic hit, like two months before everything shut down, which led me to download TikTok to try to fill in the gaps of what to do with myself in my comedy career,” he said. “That led to a growing TikTok presence and community that I’ve become a part of since then.”

He said the character of the Sphere has evolved from the first video, with the Sphere going from a robotic overseer on the Strip to a friendly giant simply trying to understand humanity.

“I did a whole monologue about learning to understand humanity and the complex relationship between humans and love and all that stuff,” he said. “It started out like Big Brother, cracking down on the law, but the orb has been getting a little bit softer, (and) has a soft spot for people as time goes by with the videos.”

@mrzack123 Replying to @Necron! (or Mars) THE ORB IS DELIGHTED TO ASSIST IN ACTS OF LOVE #theorb #lasvegas #lasvegastiktok #lasvegassphere #vegastiktok ♬ Need 2 - Pinegrove

He does worry the series may grow to eclipse his other work, he said.

“I have been posting a lot as the orb. I’m losing my identity on TikTok,” he said. “I posted a video of myself and somebody said, ‘Who are you, and where’s the orb?’ and I was like, ‘Oh good. This is great for my self-esteem.’”

That being said, merchandise for the orb is now available for purchase.

But, why does Barker think the internet loves the “orb” filter so much?

“Everybody doing it is TikTokers, and we like to see our face on a screen, so what better step forward than having our face on a giant Sphere? I guess it’s like the ultimate narcissist’s dream,” he joked.

Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tmflane on Twitter.