A video by TikTok influencer Brittany Jade Szabo is causing controversy.
The controversy ignited when Szabo posted a video on TikTok that falsely said her twin sons had a deceased brother. According to Insider, it was a prank, but it isn’t going over very well.
Szabo has 2.1 million followers on TikTok, where she goes by the handle @brittanyjade___. However, she has now sent her account to private. She also has an Instagram page with 217,000 followers, but it’s set to private now too. Her YouTube channel, The Szabo Zoo, has no videos at the moment. Insider described Szabo as “a small YouTuber who runs a family vlogging channel.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Szabo Deleted the TikTok & Apologized, But It Was Saved & Uploaded to Reddit
@___mrose #fyp #fypシ #foryou #brittanyjade #brittanyjade___ ♬ original sound – ✨MK✨
Szabo and her husband, Wyland, apologized in another TikTok video, saying that they deleted the video within 10 minutes. “We are extremely sorry for those who are hurt, triggered or offended,” she said in the apology video.
She said they were “extremely disappointed in ourselves.” She said it was “extremely insensitive of us.”
@stayinformedalways00 #brittanyjade #apologyvideo #nobullyingzone🚫 #nobully #replytocomments #explorepage #awareness #follow #fyp ♬ original sound – Stayinformedalways00main
Although Szabo deleted the TikTok, it was saved and uploaded to Reddit. You can see it here. A Reddit user wrote on August 30, 2022, “Brittany’s Jade video that she posted today! Did anyone see it before she deleted it? 😳🫣”
The caption on the video read, “Seeing if our twins will go along with what we say.”
In the video, Szabo is sitting with her husband Wyland and their twin sons in a vehicle. “Just go along with what we have to say,” she tells them.
“We are entering to win your Royal Caribbean cruises” for their birthday, she says. She then outlines “why we think we should be chosen” and explain of the twins, “They’ve been through a lot. When they were born, they had a triplet brother who they lost.”
She appears to cry. The caption on the video reads, “I could not hold it together.”
“They really miss their brother, and it’s caused them great emotional stress throughout their childhood grieving their triplet brother that they lost… they’re still in denial,” Szabo says.
One of the twin boys interjects, “What are you talking about?”
“Your triplet,” Szabo says, adding, “In loving memory of Lawrence.”
People Criticized Szabo, Saying the Prank Was Cruel to Her Sons & People Who Have Actually Lost Children
@hannahdeltoroo im disgusted in so many ways, my heart hurts. this mama not only has a baby earthside but one who never got to meet their sibling and it kills me all the time. #childloss #ReTokforNature #brittanyjade #brittanyjade___ #miscarriageawareness ♬ original sound – amberley <3
Szabo was roasted in other TikTok videos over the prank.
People criticized Szabo for the video on the Reddit thread. Here are some of those comments:
“This was a new low. She crossed a line, and everyone knows it – whether they tell her or not.”
“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.”
“Didn’t she post a few days ago on IG about one of her friends losing their 8 year old child? And then she jokes about losing one herself? Sick!”
“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.”
“She didn’t leave the video up long. I have 3 posts of some screenshots from Brittany and her followers posted in Brittany Jade Snark Sub!”
“This is soooo disgusting!!! I can’t believe she had the nerve to tell her super young sons they lost a brother… FOR VIEWS!!! This is how low Brittany is willing to go for views on an app. Keep traumatizing your kids.”
“A lot of people in the USA lost real children this year. This might be one of the grossest posts I’ve ever seen.”
“I hate these stupid pranks. They’re gross and they’re not funny. The boys deserve better than that. I don’t know how any child feels safe in a home where they’re continually pranked. How do you trust your parents that way?”
“I don’t even know who this person is, but I lost one of my twins to twin to twin transfusion syndrome and this is not something you joke about at all. It’s been 14 years and I still lose it every once in a while and break down.”
READ NEXT: Videos Capture Salman Rushdie Stabbing Scene