On October 15, 2009, people who loved cable television, especially cable news, were in for a glorious afternoon—even if they didn’t realize it when they woke up that morning.
America was about to lose its collective mind over a silver balloon that resembled a giant chef’s hat that was floating across Fort Collins, Colorado. No, it wasn’t the balloon itself that had the entire country glued to their televisions. It was the belief that a six-year-old boy named Falcon Heene was trapped inside.
America, along with the rescuers following the balloon, believed that Falcon was soaring through the sky, likely terrified and in grave danger. But, like all great shows from the golden age of television, the story had an incredible twist ending. One that not many people saw coming.
Spoiler alert: it turns out Balloon Boy was never inside the balloon. And not only was he not in danger, but it appeared as though the whole thing was a publicity stunt drummed up by the boy’s father. Ahh, I love television.
The ordeal began when the Heene family, led by father Richard Heene, dialed 911 and claimed that young Falcon had climbed into their homemade “UFO” right before it was “accidentally” released into the sky.
It only took a few minutes before every single 24-hour news channel had cameras on the meandering balloon, broadcasting the drama live for Americans everywhere to watch unfold. The whole situation was tragic, but also kind of like a circus, which is right in the sweet spot for the American public.
Of course, TV cameras failed to capture a shot of little Falcon in the balloon while they tracked it in the air (the balloon managed to travel around 50 miles in about 2 hours). And when it finally landed, the rescuers following the balloon were also unable to get eyes on Falcon.
That’s because Falcon was safe at home with his family the whole time. He was (allegedly!) hiding out in the family’s attic, safe and sound, from the very start. The happy ending to what initially seemed like a scary, weird, and captivating media event was quickly erased by the truth.
Remembering the ‘Balloon Boy’ Saga 16 Years Later
That big twist at the end? It was revealed that “Balloon Boy” was a publicity stunt that gained much more attention than the Heene family had intended or expected. Even worse, it was young Falcon himself who slipped up in an interview on Larry King Live and said, “You guys said we did this for the show.”
Oops. Never break character, kid. At least not until the DVD commentary has been recorded.
A month later, Richard Heene pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including attempting to influence a public servant. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay a $36,000 fine. Falcon’s mother, Mayumi Heene, was also sentenced to 20 days in weekend jail.
Perhaps the craziest part of the entire saga? The Heene family now claims that they are innocent. They say they only pleaded guilty after receiving threats about Mayumi’s potential deportation. Hey, crazier things have happened in America.
A documentary about the incident and the family was released by Netflix earlier this year. As expected, the Heene family continues to maintain their innocence to this day. Regardless of whether or not they made everything up (they did), you can’t deny that it was one of the most memorable TV and pop culture moments of the 2000s.
The post On This Day in 2009, Balloon Boy Became American TV History appeared first on VICE.
