MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

TikTok 'culture' slammed after child sits on lap of prankster pretending to be a mannequin

The viral clip showed a man wearing a white morph suit pretending to be a mannequin in a Target store

A TikTok video of a supposed "mannequin prank gone wrong" has sparked quite the uproar on social media.

The viral clip, posted by TikTok user @tugruckless, garnered millions of views after it showed a man wearing a white morph suit pretending to be a mannequin at a Target store. Moments later, a young girl approaches and attempts to sit on the "mannequin" - only to realize it is a real person. The girl immediately falls back in shock and a woman, apparently her mother, rebukes the person filming the prank.

RELATED ARTICLES

'Lesco Brandon': YouTuber Prankazoids tricks stores to page play on 'Let's go Brandon'

Instagram influencer slammed for chopping up baby dolphin before frying and eating it says it was just a prank

“That’s rude,” the child’s mother is heard saying in the video. “Y’all are wrong for that. F**k y’all.” The clip ends with the person dressed as a mannequin being asked to leave the store by an employee.

Some viewers on TikTok appeared to support the pranksters, saying the mother overreacted, the Daily Dot reported. “It was funny!” one commented. “The little girl being dramatic like her mama.” “That will teach her to not sit on things in the store,” someone else wrote. “Who sits on mannequins?” another wondered.

However, the majority thought the prank was in bad taste and questioned why the pranksters set up the act in Target's children section. “Why were you at the toddler section in the first place?” one asked.

“Honestly though… choosing to sit in the children's section probably wasn’t the smartest decision,” another agreed.

Over on Twitter, there was a major backlash against TikTok "culture". "TikTok has y’all scaring/bothering innocent people for laughs + it’s phucking weird," one tweeted. "It’s very weird how much onus is being placed on the child sitting at target…like??" another wrote.

"Literally this whole culture of going to stores and whispering in people's ears and jumping at them or doing something crazy isn’t funny. It’s literally enough it’s disgusting," a comment read. "Intention matters. He’s posted up in the infant/toddler section + didn’t expect a child to play with the mannequin? It’s just sus AF," someone else added.
  
"And this is why I can’t stand TikTok. A culture has been created where we scare and traumatize children and strangers, all for some views, likes, and isolated laughs at a screen. It’s foul," another chimed in

While many agreed that the prank ended poorly, others offered that the situation was diffused rather smoothly given the circumstances. “She’s fine,” one wrote of the young girl, adding that she was probably “just embarrassed.” Another said "it would have been [worse] if he didn’t move her," noting how the prankster didn't let the girl sit on his lap.

Meanwhile, everyone involved was a relatively good sport. “The dad passed the vibe check,” one user observed. “Dad was a good sport!!!” another agreed. That said, even the Target employee couldn't help but smile as she escorted the fake mannequin out of the store. “The store girl laughed!” a comment read.