Prank Message From "Jeff Bezos" Whining About Taxes On The Wealthy Plays At Seattle Crosswalk

“Wouldn’t it be terrible if all the rich people left Seattle, or got Luigi’d, and then normal people could afford to live here again?”

This morning, pedestrians laughed at a spoof voicemail pretending to be from Amazon's Jeff Bezos that played when pedestrians hit the arrow button to trigger a walk signal at a few intersections in Seattle, including the corner of Fairview and Denny in South Lake Union. While there appears to be a coordinated effort by hackers across the country to leave messages poking fun at the ultra-wealthy, this message comes to Seattle right as the Washington State Legislatures appears to quietly strangle their own wealth tax proposal after backlash from corporate lobby groups and disapproval from Governor Bob Ferguson.

“Hi, I’m Jeff Bezos, this crosswalk is sponsored by Amazon Prime with an important message: You know, please, please don’t tax the rich. Otherwise, all the other billionaires will move to Florida too," the voice said. “Wouldn’t it be terrible if all the rich people left Seattle, or got Luigi’d, and then normal people could afford to live here again?”

The message ended with a snippet from Bo Burnham's quarantine-era classic "Bezos I."

The Seattle Department of Transportation is reportedly working to fix the hack, concerned for how it may affect accesibility for people with visually impairements.