Who is Riley Lemon? TikToker's video of telling cop he has a body in car sparks furore: 'Whiteness saved you'
A TikToker's prank video has sparked a conversation on 'White privilege' after he filmed himself telling a police officer he is carrying a dead body in the back of his car just to get out of a ticket. This has led to a discourse in the comments, where users are pointing out the privilege of being White when it comes to encounters with law enforcement.
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Who is Riley Lemon?
The 24-year-old Nashville-based comedy content creator, with the username @lemonbrothers on TikTok, brags of 650,000 followers on the social media platform. Participating in a recent trend where TikTokers cringe at their past moments, his text across the video read: "Me thinking about the time I got pulled over & told the cop I had a dead body in the back of my car."
Riley's video with body in a car
The TikTok video then corroborates his claims, by cutting to the apparent incident, where Lemon can be seen sitting in the car. He exchanges pleasantries with the officer before being asked "Do you have any idea why I pulled you over?" Lemon then quips "Is it 'cause you think I'm cute or the dead body in the back of my car." He can also be seen laughing to himself, and the officer responds: "I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the vehicle." A panicked Lemon can be seen reaching for the phone and ending the recording.
@lemonbrothers Pro Tip ##1: Don’t tell a cop you have a dead body in the back of your car as a joke😅 ##lemonbrothers ##rileylemon
♬ original sound - Amir Yass
The video sparked massive reaction, and Lemon explained he was trying to 'get out of a ticket' by making the 'joke'. He even questioned viewers "Y'all ever say anything wild to get out of a ticket?" The clip has garnered more than over a million plays and over 4 million views since Friday, March 12 when it was posted. Lemon had captioned it, "Pro Tip #1 : Don’t tell a cop you have a dead body in the back of your car as a joke."
'What in the White privilege?'
Taking it to the comments section, users have slammed the alleged bias the video reflects unintentionally. "What in the white privilege," said one, another added: "You're lucky you're White." Some warned viewers to "not try this at home" as "results may vary depending on skin color." Another user commented, "The WHITENESS saved him." One quipped "He let you reach for your phone? Must be nice!" Another said "Imagine grabbing the phone while Black."
Lemon claims the video was after all staged, sharing with the Daily Dot how he often stages incidents for comedic content for his TikTok account. "My goal with my videos is to bring a smile to people's faces, especially during the rough times of this past year," he told the outlet. He said he never expected this video of all to go viral. "Although it was not intentional, any video that gets a conversation going about relevant topics is a success in my opinion," he said.
