Roberto Sfredda was walking down a street in California when a woman next to him screamed.
He flinched. It was not an emergency. She thought he was Joe Jonas.
The 28-year-old Italian content creator says he has been mistaken for the pop star across Europe, South America and the US for years.
The comparisons recently intensified after he posted a side-by-side video online that he made “just for fun”. It hit 1.7 million views. His inbox has not recovered.
‘Just let me know when you’re free so we can start planning’
Sfredda says the messages from women follow a reliable pattern.
“It usually starts innocent, then turns into, ‘So when are you coming to my city?’ pretty quickly,” he told CreatorZine.
“I’ve had quite a few people shoot their shot. Some very confidently. Some very creatively.”
One follower wrote: “I already told my friends you’re going to be the father of my future kids. Just let me know when you’re free so we can start planning.”
Another sent a full itinerary for a romantic weekend away, complete with hotel options, dinner reservations and suggestions for future family trips. He is also, he says, constantly asked whether he has an OnlyFans account. He does not, and says that is not in his plans.
“The level of detail and confidence was insane,” he said. “Some people even say I’m better looking. Others get very imaginative and dramatic with what they write. Let’s just say creativity is not lacking in my DMs.”
The comparison video that changed everything
Sfredda says the lookalike confusion had followed him for years before the video. Strangers would stare, approach him, ask for photos or simply assume he was Jonas and skip straight to the selfie.
The side-by-side clip turned a running joke into something much bigger. “There were thousands of comments, people tagging friends, debates about whether we’re actually twins or not,” he said. “A lot of people are convinced it’s more than just a small resemblance. My inbox definitely felt it. The first few days were wild.”
The accent gives it away
Sfredda admits he has occasionally played along. It never lasts. “I’ve definitely joked about it before.
A few times I pretended to be him but I was quickly caught by my accent, so it didn’t last long.”
There is one request he tries to dodge every time. “As soon as someone makes the Joe Jonas comparison, the next logical step in their mind is to ask me to sing something,” he said.
“There’s this assumption that if you look remotely like a pop star, you must come with the full package. I usually tell them it’s much safer if I just stick to playing an instrument. That way people can keep the illusion alive.”
Why it matters
Celebrity lookalike content is one of the most reliable engagement engines on social media.
It requires no budget, no production team and no particular talent beyond genetics and timing. Sfredda turned a resemblance he did not choose into 1.7 million views with a single video.
For creators still searching for their hook, the lesson is blunt: sometimes the thing that makes people stop scrolling is already staring back at you in the mirror.
The challenge is making it last beyond the initial spike. One comparison video is a moment. Building an audience that stays requires something the lookalike alone cannot provide.
Sfredda seems aware of that. He is a travel content creator first, Jonas doppelgänger second.
Whether the resemblance remains the headline or becomes a footnote depends on what he builds next. For now, the DMs keep coming.
