She overreacted to the tourist site – and became a joke

@macy_thompsonnNothing could have prepared me for this moment. The emotions took control

♬ original sound – Macy Thompson

Reasonable or excessive?: An American tourist managed to confuse her followers following her reaction to one of the world’s most famous tourist attractions – Big Ben in London. Macy Thompson, an online influencer under the name @macy_thompson, flew from Dallas, Texas, to Britain for the first time, but when she arrived at the clock tower, the 24-year-old couldn’t control her emotions, and thus she was ridiculed on the Internet – mainly by British surfers.

In the video, which has gained almost 4 million views in three days, Thompson is seen walking past the Houses of Parliament on Bridge Street, before turning at the intersection where Big Ben is revealed to her for the first time. Many Britons walk past the tower every day, but when Macy saw it she fell to her knees and began to sob. She quickly got back up, and smiled with tears in her eyes at her friend who recorded the moment. In the title of the video she wrote: “Nothing could have prepared me for this moment. The emotions took over me.”

As mentioned, Thompson’s dramatic behavior left many surfers confused, with commenters expressing bewilderment and even embarrassment. The British commenters could not understand the reaction of the American tourist and many of them decided to write comments, some of them humorous: “I also cry when I walk in the center of London. Tears of pain,” wrote one. Another responded that “I live in England and I’ve seen the place several times. It’s just a big clock with a bell inside.” Another commenter simply wanted to know if it was a joke: “Is it satire? I can’t handle it today.”

Thompson responded to some of the comments, and tried to explain why she reacted the way she did when she saw Big Ben for the first time: “It was the most exciting experience of my life so far,” she wrote. Indeed, while most commenters wrote sarcastic comments, some appreciated the tourist’s response to the classic site: “As a Londoner, it’s so sweet to see a response like this. I hope you have an enjoyable trip!” wrote one, while a follower wrote: “I understand That’s one hundred percent. I had the same reaction when I saw the Colosseum in Rome, the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty in New York. It’s a feeling of accomplishment and it’s the best thing ever.”

Big Ben is the nickname for the large clock bell at the north end of the Palace of Westminster, and is likely named after Benjamin Hall, who was in charge of the work at the time of the bell’s installation. However, many people use the name when referring to the entire tower. In fact, the tower’s official name was changed from the “Clock Tower” to the “Elizabeth Tower” in 2012 to mark the celebrations Diamond Jubilee for the late Queen Elizabeth II.