Man behind viral Oak Park Zillow listing says cocaine on counter was a joke

A Zillow listing for a home in Oak Park on Northfield Boulevard went viral for having what looks like cocaine in the picture. A powdery white substance, drawn into lines, can be seen on a plate in the corner.

WXYZ’s Anu Prakash called the number listed on the rental, and spoke with a man named Jeff who identified himself as the boyfriend of the homeowner. Jeff said the listing received 29,000 views in one day, and that he received over 100 calls, texts, and emails.

The photo, it turns out, was a joke.

“I was like, I’m wondering if I did something like this if anybody would even notice or if somebody did notice it, that it would go viral and it went viral,” Jeff told WXYZ. “It went too viral.”

Jeff said that the substance was actually Goody’s Headache Powder.

Lt. Taylor with the Oak Park police department said they will not be looking into the matter because of the complicated legal questions to establish probable cause for a search warrant.

“I wouldn’t recommend anyone staging something like that to try and gain interest in a home or property,” Taylor said in a statement.

Zillow has already taken the photo down since it went viral. “We removed the photo for violating our Good Neighbor Policy,” a spokesman for the company told WXYZ. “Our customer support team monitors the site, reviews flagged content, and takes action to remove content that violates our principles.”

After being asked by Prakash if this was the kind of attention he wanted, Jeff responded: “Yes and no.”