Via iStockphoto / @louyslikelooee TikTok
A woman has gone viral after being the recipient of an unusual ID card after a misprint in Michigan that affected 8,200 people.
When one woman got her new ID card, she didn’t expect to see another person’s photo staring back at her. But after being caught up with the “Great Michigan Misprint,” that’s exactly what happened.
In the video, which garnered 3 million views, an amused TikTok user Sarah Norwood slowly revealed a driver’s license, which featured a picture of a random man. As she did this, on-screen text read, “There was a batch of misprinted IDs in the state of Michigan this past week…”
“I posted it because I think it’s a funny mishap that the state’s vendor made, and it had personally caught me completely off guard when I caught the mistake,” Norwood said in a TikTok direct message to BroBible. “I thought it was especially silly because of how dramatically different the man’s image is to my own image, being that I’m a white woman and he’s very clearly a black man. The reaction has been massive, with a lot of people calling the man ‘Mr. Michigan,’ and looking to find the man in the image to hear his two cents on it. The mistake has been dubbed the ‘Great Michigan Misprint.’
“Some people have said that I received my government issued black card, too lol. The general consensus is that most people find him attractive and hope to see his face on TikTok soon. I’m being recommended to keep the ID and frame it with the news article referring to the misprinted IDs, and while some people are upset about the mistake, others wish they had also received the misprinted ID. Nothing has occurred in terms of a follow-up, I still don’t know if they’re sending out a new ID for us (the 8,200 ID victims), or who the man is.”
Who Is This Guy?
Commenters were amused. “I would sue if my picture ended up on everyone’s ID,” one said.
“We must find out who this guy is!!!” a second added.
“Imagine being the unsuspecting guy who was printed on a bunch of strangers IDs,” a third remarked.
A fourth said, “The way it’s all the same guy has had me cackling all day.”
“At least it’s a nice pic of him,” a fifth remarked.
What’s Up With Everyone’s ID Cards?
As reported by NBC Chicago, more than 8,000 people received this card. These misprinted cards featured the same photo in the video and a stock birthday date of Jan. 12, 1967. According to the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office, this misprint only impacts a specific batch of cards. Following the mistake, anyone who received the erroneous card will automatically get a new one. As for the photo, the explanation is pretty boring: It’s a stock image.
In a statement cited by NBC Chicago, the Office said, “Affected customers can also go online or visit a Secretary of State branch office in person to print a temporary license/ID to use while they wait for a new card. If your old license or ID hasn’t expired yet, it’s still valid for travel.”
Meanwhile, other recipients of this card shared their story with WDIV. “I went to the Secretary of State to apply for my license,” Michelle Thomas said. She went on to say that she was “excited, like, ‘oh, I’m about to, you know, finally get my license. I looked at my license and see that this man was on here, and I automatically knew that it wasn’t right.”
She later added, “I have no clue when I’m receiving my actual license.”
Lenita Nelson also received the strange ID card. “At first, I really didn’t think. I’m like, OK, maybe they’re putting the secretary of state on the licenses. But then I’m like, girl, the secretary of state is not a Black man,” she said. Later, she noted: “They could have sent out a blast email or anything and said, ‘Hey, make sure that you look and check.'”
Elsewhere, BroBible has reported on the nuances of IDs before. One example is a woman getting on a plane with no ID. Another is the TSA rejecting a woman’s ID after her ‘ID glam’ caused confusion. But when it comes to strange ID stories, nothing can top this.