Subway 'selfie-rat' was a hoax

It seems "Selfie Rat," which first showed up on the internet in November, was actually a hoax.

Gothamist, the online magazine, did an in-depth investigation into the viral video and found that it was coordinated by a Brooklyn performance artist. Eric Yearwood co-stars in the video.

He said the artist, named Zardulu, contacted him and about the video. She explained; "It's a rat video. We are going to going to a subway and pretend that a rat took a selfie on you."

Yearwood said Zardulu offered him $200 and he accepted.

He said he went to Zardulu's studio, where she had several well-trained rats that she had taught to do things using a clicker. According to Yearwood the rat in his video was "treated like a princess."

Yearwood said the video took almost 10 takes and the rat never ran off.

So what is next for the viral rat phenomenon Is cannibal rat the real deal? Did pizza rat really carry a slice up the stairs? Tweet us your opinion @ChasingNews.