A strange, cruel prank is spreading like wildfire across social media which involves grown adults throwing slices of cheese at their unsuspecting baby’s face.
Sounds like a joke, right? Nope. It’s not, and quite frankly, internet, we need to talk. We were there with you through the Harlem Shake, and planking as well as the Ice Bucket challenge and all of the weird things people are doing to their fingernails … but we think maybe this time you’ve gone too far.
The prank was started by a Michigan dad named Charles Amara, who shared a Facebook video, which has since been removed, last Tuesday of a baby getting “cheesed” with the caption, “You asked for it, here it is! Attack of the cheese Episode 2. He wasn’t happy after this one.”
As is the way of the internet, just two days later, Twitter user, @unclehxlmes shared that same video with the message: “just cheesed my lil brother.”
By the weekend that shared video had been viewed more than 8 million times. It was at this point that @unclehxlmes removed the content from his feed and issued the following apology: “just to let you all know, that cheese tweet isnt my lil brother and ive deleted it. didnt expect it to get THAT viral lmaoooo”
A follow-up tweet clarified: “I have spoken with the child’s mother and explained why I have deleted it,” wrote @unclehxlmes “It was very invasive for the family and I would like to apologise.”
Despite the video being removed and the apology that was issued, the viral nature of the prank had already taken hold, as hundreds of other social media users took up the cheese and made aim for the nearest baby face they could find.
It’s this innocence that makes the whole thing icky. Whoever thought it was cool to make a baby the target of a prank has some serious issues to work through.
No stranger to a prank, social media queen, and mum-of-two Chrissy Teigen was one of the first celebrities to weigh in on this strange and cruel trend.
“I love a prank as much as anybody but I cannot get myself to throw cheese at my adorable, unsuspecting baby who has all the hope and trust in the world in me ..” wrote Teigen.
And it’s not just Teigen who thinks the whole thing odd.
Twitter users have been quick to condemn the whole thing.
Where this internet prank fails, is the fact that it’s simply not funny. It’s not clever, or witty. It doesn’t take skill, or practise.
It’s bullying, plain and simple. There’s an easy, innocent target that people are taking advantage of for clicks and the whole thing is gross.
Don’t throw cheese at your baby for internet glory. Try harder.
