Mom Slammed For Prank Video Telling Twin Sons Their Brother Died In Order To Win Free Cruise
This is so insensitive.
TikTok A TikToker who pranked her children by telling them they had a sibling who died is facing severe backlash.
Brittany Jade Szabo, a content creator on TikTok with 2.2 million followers, uses her platform to share her journey of overcoming addiction.
She is also a mom of three children, two of whom are twin boys. Szabo, who is typically beloved by her followers, has been forced to apologize after fans found a recent video upsetting.
In the deleted video, Brittany Jade pranks her sons by telling them they had a triplet who died.
In the video, Szabo and her husband, Wyland, stage a prank by pretending to be making a video in order to be in with a chance of winning a cruise.
The purpose of the prank is to see if the twins will go along with the lie they created.
Szabo goes on to explain how the twins have had a hard time and deserve to win a cruise for their birthday after losing their “triplet.”
The 33-year-old creator states, “We are entering to win your Royal Caribbean cruise for Levi and Cove’s birthday.”
“And why we think we should be chosen is because they've been through a lot”.
“When they were born, they had a triplet brother, whom they lost, and…” Szabo continues, attempting to disguise her laughter so her sons are not alerted to the lie.
“They really miss their brother and it has caused them great emotional stress.”
When one of the boys interrupts to point out that they don’t have a brother, Szabo interjects to say, “They’re still in denial.”
“In loving memory of Lawrence,” Szabo ends the video after instructing her sons to smile into the camera.
Brittany Jade is being criticized for her insensitivity to infant loss.
The since-deleted video has been reposted by other TikTok users, causing increased backlash.
One top comment on a repost comes from popular TikTok creator Mama Tot, whose real name is Ophelia Nichols.
Nichols's 18-year-old son was shot dead in June and she has been open about the struggles that come with grieving a child.
“And I’m seeing this not even 3 months after losing my son,” her comment reads.
When the video was reposted to Reddit, other users seem to all be in agreement that the video is insensitive.
One Reddit user commented, “Oooof this is bad. She joked about having a dead child?? Sometimes I’ve thought the criticism on her was a bit much but this just changed my mind.”
Another user added, “Absolutely vile! Why would she ever think that’s okay to joke about? Not only is it triggering for women who have actually lost a baby, but she’s also messing with her kids' feelings as well. What a heartless person.”
Viewers of the video have expressed concern for the trauma and confusion the twins could feel.
Brittany Jade has apologized for the video.
In a follow-up video, Szabo explains that she deleted the video within 10 minutes of posting it because she realized how it might impact some followers.
“We are extremely sorry to those who were hurt, triggered or offended by the context of that video,” she says.
Szabo explains that, while many viewers found humor in the video, comments from people pointing out how offensive the prank could be helped her realize her error.
She then shared screenshots of apologies she sent to people who had commented to say they were impacted by the prank.
Annabelle Miller is a writer for YourTango based in Connecticut. She covers news, celebrity gossip, and pop culture topics.