#mentalhealthawareness #youtuberprank #overcominghumiliation
A couple of years back, I worked at a craft store near me. Important context, I am diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, depersonalization/derealization disorder, anxiety, and PTSD- all of which I was struggling with very heavily at this time. I was in psychosis as this story took place.
It had just tuned five o’clock and I was allowed to clock and out and leave. As I was walking down the wall past the registers and towards the office, I heard someone behind me say “excuse me”. I hadn’t clocked out yet and I was ready to help anyone I met along the way to the office who needed help, so I turned around. When I did, my heart sank right to the floor. There was a man standing there, maybe early 20s, with a bottle of glue in his hand. What made me feel suspicious of him was that he was wearing a shirt with a photo of my face on it, one I had never seen. All blown up, embarrassing, just gutwrenching. Many thoughts ran through my head at that moment, but the most crippling one was that I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or awake. Was I hallucinating? I thought surely this isn’t happening, and if it is, why? He asked me, “Is this you?”, and pointed to his shirt. I went into fight or flight mode and I didn’t want to disrespect a potential customer by excusing myself. I said yes, and asked him where he got it. He told me that he found it at a Goodwill in a town I never even visit, and said there were three of them. I immediately didn’t believe him and stood there not knowing what to say or do, so I played along until I could escape the situation. He asked me if I wanted to sign the shirt, and at this point I’m on the verge of crying because I’m so confused and scared of what’s happening. But the markers are near where the office is, and I can get away, I thought. We walk to the section where the markers are and I “sign” his shirt, I didn’t use my actual signature because I didn’t know what he might do with it. He tells me his name, and fist bumps me. He walked away, and I stood there frozen for a moment, just genuinely questioning my reality. As I’m standing there, a coworker approached me and told me that there was another person with him, and that he was recording me the whole time. This is when I went into a full blown panic and wanted to know what the heck was happening. We walked the store together and she pointed him out to me. She also got a quick video of them in case we needed it for later. She approached the guy holding the camera and asked him to please stop recording and confronted him. He just smiled and started recording again, said nothing. I asked the person who was wearing my face on display what was going on, and he acted as if he had no idea what was happening, or who the camera person was, as he was standing maybe six feet away. My coworker called on her headset for our manager. She came up and asked me what was going on, I told her I had no idea, but I was being recorded. At this point I was visibly crying and very worked up. She told me to go to the breakroom, which I did. As soon as I got into the breakroom, I had a full on meltdown. Not meltdown, episode. I called my mom because I didn’t know what else to do. When she picked up she knew something was wrong, but I told her I didn’t understand what was happening to me but it’s all very terrifying and I’m afraid to leave with them here. Maybe fifteen minutes later, said manager came in and told me she saw then drive away, but they refused to leave and just recorded until she told them they were trespassing at that point and was actively dialing 911. I stayed for a while anyway, and with the advice of another manager who said they might be posting it online, I decided to go home and look it up.
When I searched “t shirt prank” and YouTube, lo and behold there he was. He posted a separate video explaining how he does this, recording the process. Basically, he goes into a store with a camera person, they catch a still or a photo, get a shirt made of it (they have also done this with IDs- photos of cashier’s faces), then come back coincidentally when you’re working and prank you, saying they found the shirt or some excuse. Then whoever is the best sport and takes it the best “wins” $50. I kept checking the channel every few days, and about two weeks later the video of me was posted.
Now, my concern is that although this was a little over a year ago, this video has since gone viral. Every time I come across it or someone I know sees it and brings it up or shows me, it almost sends me right back into that panic and I feel so embarrassed and ashamed because he humiliated me in such a vulnerable moment. I could see if maybe he had told me he was filming or asked me if I wanted to participate, but he didn’t. Even when things escalated, he just used it for clout. I’m the highlight of that video because of how quickly I “switched up” my mood, and that’s because I was literally in a psychotic episode and trying to survive that moment.
Is there anything I could possibly do to have the video removed or edited? I understand that he’s allowed to film, but this video has quite literally destroyed my self-esteem and caused me so much stress. I deleted/remade all my social media under a different name because I don’t want people knowing who I am. I don’t work anymore, my quality of life had decreased. I feel like me and my mental illness are being mocked and quite frankly I just want it all to end. I also understand that there may be nothing I can do, so please be kind in the comments when giving your criticisms. It’s just something I’ve always thought about and I finally have the guts to talk about it, I guess. This took a lot of courage, so any advice would be much appreciated ❤️
**EDIT** Thanks to everyone who has found the video and reported/commented, the original uploader has stated that they will be removing the part of the video that features me in it. I cannot thank you all enough for your support and kind words and actions. It’s things like this that genuinely restore my faith in humanity and remind me that I’m not alone, even when I may believe that to be the truth. I would also like to say that while I appreciate the support, I don’t wish any hate or misfortune for the uploader. He admits to making a mistake and I forgive and respect that. All I wanted was for my privacy to be respected, therefore my part being removed from the video is conclusion enough for me. Thank you all again, so much ❤️
hi love. the video has been edited and you are no longer in it. ❤️ a bunch of people commented in your favor and it’s no longer there. i hope this provides some relief
edit: unfortunately. you are still in the thumbnail. hopefully he gets that removed as well🤞🏼
I have no advice, I just want to say I wish I could give you a hug. People are awful.
I’m so sorry this has happened to you 🙁 i think people especially younger people have gotten too comfortable with harassing and recording people in public.
Did you sign a model release?
News shows do not require them. Entertainment shows do.
This is why you often see random people with blurred faces in reality TV shows that are not news.
They can film you in a public place, but they cannot use your image (especially as the central subject in an entertainment show) without a model release.
Consult with an entertainment lawyer. You likely have a claim against them.
I am sorry i just got this reel in my feed and i have reported it.
This sounds so tortuous even without being plagued by mental health struggles. I am so genuinely sorry this happened to you. I think that is so creepy & cruel & confusing. That sounds like a real life nightmare & I hope you can find healing.
Sending support and positive energy to you ♡
I would make a copyright claim on youtube. Either you get all the money from the video or it possibly gets removed.
Im glad everyones going to the video and telling him to remove that section, and surprised he actually listened. I hope you’re doing okay OP. 🖤
I’m so sorry this has happened to you. There’s a scenario where the prank wouldn’t have been so terrible. Like he could’ve just explained what was going on, asked for your consent to be in the video, and compensated you for it. The weird evasiveness and feigned ignorance is super gross.
Yeah I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to sign a consent form that you allow them to use a video of you. Otherwise they would need to blur your face out. Idk if it depends on the state I’m not a lawyer but I think it would be worth it to consult with one to see if you have a case here. It’s horrible that happened to you.
I’m not a lawyer. As someone with super bad social anxiety, I completely understand and I would be devastated and have a meltdown as well. I read that legally you can be recorded in public without your consent, however, not if it’s being monetized. I wonder if you have rights due to this.
It also says that you can be recorded in public without consent but not in private property, and the property owner can have the person arrested. I don’t know if inside of a store would be considered private property. Does the store have any kind of policy about recording in the store, where they could bring legal action against the YouTuber?
Please correct me if I’m misunderstanding.
The YouTuber just commented on his video that he’s either blurring or removing the part of the video you’re in (but he said it can take up to 2 hrs to update).
If only YouTube / TikTok / Facebook / etc didn’t incentivize the filming of complete strangers without permission. Even better, that type of behavior should be penalized, not rewarded. But this is the world we live in.
I just went to the video to post comments and complain on your behalf. He just edited you out girl!! I am so happy for you.
Two things…
* Have you saved the video?
* On the other hand, if anyone ask you about what happened, just say you are an actor.
Guilt means “I have done something wrong” and shame means “I am wrong”. Neither of these seem to represent you in this situation. The guilt and shame are theirs to carry, not yours.
Oh, how awful !
>Is there anything I could possibly do to have the video removed or edited?
You can ask, nicely. You could even have an attorney write a persuasive letter explaining that the prank caused severe emotional distress that has significantly impacted your health and employment.
What the prankster did is similar to the civil tort of “intentional infliction of emotional distress”. Their intent was to cause you some confusion and embarrassment, and to film that result. Because they chose a very fragile victim, they caused much more damage than they intended.
But IIED has a very high threshold. It’s not enough to prove that they intended to cause emotional distress and succeeded in doing so, or even to prove that your distress was extremely severe.
Their conduct also has to be “extreme and outrageous”. The actual language used in law is usually:
>“liability has been found only where the conduct has been so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community
I think that a lawsuit would probably not succeed on the basis of IIED because this prank was weird, but not cruel or outrageous or intolerable. Most people would have been uncomfortable or surprised, not suffer the severe consequences you did.
This might be addressed as a straight personal injury case; that’s where the “eggshell skull” rule applies and the same behavior can vary in liability based on the actual damage, not the damage that could be predicted. There’s a counter-argument that most of your symptoms preceded the prank.
You can consult with a personal injury attorney, but I think the best course of action is to have an attorney write a strongly worded letter to try to get the prankster to take down the video that features you.
What a terrible, terrible thing to do to someone. I’m so sorry this happened to you.
Sorry this happened to you. I saw the video and for what it’s worth your reaction was completely normal. It started out as a funny and random but I think anyone’s mood would shift when finding out they were being recorded. Everyone knows prank dudes like that are douches. Id try to move past this.
Sorry this happened to you. Have you reported the video to YouTube?
No advice, but this sounds awful. What jerks these people are. Best wishes.
Wow. If anything, this was an interesting read. Fuck these guys… I also struggle with some similar issues and would immediately assume that I’m hallucinating, and then worry what kind of life job ending episode would unfold…. and those pranksters might have been hurt. What a stupid thing to play on someone. I don’t know what to do, but I’d love to see you make a viral video of your own on your real life experiences with this bullshit. You’ve got quite a unique story here that most good hearted people are gonna feel. Sorry my friend, don’t let it get to you too much. They are sad pathetic people with a sick sense of humor.
Sorry this happened to you. Reported the video as well, hopefully if enough people report it at the same time it gets removed or at the very least demonetized.
You should file for emotional trauma.