YouTuber slammed for 'disgusting' act with homeless man: 'Not funny'
A social media star has responded to backlash over a recent prank.
An internet prankster has been slammed online after he shared a video of himself buying a homeless man food and then eating it in front of him.
The clip opens with Trevon Sellers telling the camera: "Los Angeles, California, has the third-biggest homeless population in the United States. And today it's my job to make sure there's one less hungry person on the streets."
He then approaches a bearded man squatting beside a waste container and says: "Hey, excuse me, sir. Hey, I was wondering, are you hungry by any chance, man?"
The man nods and Mr Sellers says: "All right then, I got you. What would you like? A Baconator, fries, drink, is that cool? All right. What's your name, man?"
The homeless man replies: "Israel."
Mr Sellers fist-bumps the man, saying: "Israel? God bless you, Israel. I got you. I'll be right back, man."
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He then goes to a nearby Wendy's restaurant, places his order, and returns to Israel with food. He lists the contents of the meal for the homeless man before explaining: "I was homeless myself, so I'm gonna make sure you get on the right path and you're always able to get back on your feet.
"So I want you to enjoy this." He then wolfs down the meal right in front of the incredulous man's eyes before saying, "This is really good. All right, take care, have a nice day." He then walks off.
Viewers slam 'disgusting' prank
After posting the video for his nearly 10,000 subscribers, Mr Sellers was met with a deluge of criticism. "Filming buying someone food is already distasteful. But to eat it in front of his face and upload it is disgusting. He deserves no grace," one angry viewer commented.
"He's literally going to have the worst karma," a second wrote. "And the purpose of this was? If we've stooped to these levels for views and recognition this world has moved to the point beyond being sad," added a third.
YouTuber defends video
Amid the criticism, Mr Sellers tried to deny his actions, telling his nearly 39,000 Instagram followers: "This video has been trending around the internet recently and I wanna clear the air on it.
"This entire video is scripted and the man you see in it is a friend and local of my community. His name is Israel Pope. I asked him beforehand if we could make this video and he agreed to be in it. I gave him some money and some food before we even started recording."
But even that explanation was not enough for some, with one social media user commenting: "What was the purpose of this video even if it was 'staged'?" Another described it as a "horrible joke" and someone else said, "Even if he was homeless or not or if this was planned, it simply wasn't funny or entertaining."
- CEN/Australscope
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