The Reactions to the Empire State Building Climbers Were Better Than Whatever the Hell They Did Here

On Wednesday, two people scaled the Empire State Building, flew a flag with a hippie message, and the event ended in a proposal. And yes, their asses got hauled away in handcuffs. You can’t just hang on top of the building like King Kong (via ABC 7 NY):

BREAKING: A Manhattan judge granted the alleged Empire State Building climbers supervised release… and they shared a massive kiss before descending the subway stairs. Story coming @Gothamist pic.twitter.com/RUlw8lLshl
— brittany.kriegstein (@BKriegstein) July 2, 2026

Ended in a proposal pic.twitter.com/dJgVx7Pxdm
— Ajakara🐸_🙂‍↔️ (@theweb3gidz) July 1, 2026

Kissing daredevils arrested after Empire State Building proposal stunt https://t.co/69DDUzqdAa pic.twitter.com/z2ftSVtO9A
— New York Post (@nypost) July 2, 2026

A couple wearing black climbed to the top of the Empire State Building's transmitter, and by the time they climbed back down, they were engaged, and then arrested.
Angela Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, were hit with numerous charges following their stunt -- including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, violation of local laws, possession of burglar's tools, criminal tampering, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.
They were walked out of an NYPD police precinct in Midtown on Wednesday night.
Hours earlier, Nikolau and Kuznetsov held a pro-peace banner at the very top of the spire, and the couple shared some kisses just after noon.
It appeared to read, "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace."