A brief but upsetting TikTok video of a woman and her apparent baby at a salon is horrifying viewers.
The short clip was uploaded by user @joyfreckles—who goes by Letitia Joy on her page—in mid-July, but has recently caught the attention of the internet at large. It has been viewed 5.6 million times, more than any other TikTok on Joy’s page. The video has racked up comments from concerned and downright furious viewers asking what, exactly, the caretaker was thinking.
The video shows a woman at a barbershop getting her hair done. In front of her seat, a baby stroller is positioned to face the woman—presumably the mother. A thick blue blanket is heaped inside the stroller with a large designer purse tossed on top, but neither of these details are behind viewers’ distress. It is the two tiny feet poking out from beneath the pile that concerned viewers, who quickly inquired after the health of the baby sitting beneath the woman’s piled possessions.
Joy, who noted in a comment that the video was sent to her, captioned the video with a note that “some people don’t deserve kids.” Commenters agreed with this sentiment, blasting the woman for seemingly caring more about her purse staying clean than her baby and the baby’s ability to breathe.
Expressing concern over the baby’s health, multiple viewers pointed out that there are several spots on the stroller specifically made for purses, diaper bags, and other cumbersome items to be stored. They are designed like that to avoid exactly what is shown in the video.
Other people expressed outrage that whoever filmed the video, along with the barber, did nothing to aid the infant. Multiple other solutions were proposed, including calling the police or assisting the baby themselves. A number of people noted their desire to throw “that purse clean across the room.”
“That’s literally suffocation,” one viewer wrote. “I’m so sorry for that poor baby.”
Some viewers were so affected by the video it urged them to locate their own children to show them some affection. They stressed the idea that “every kid deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves to have a kid.”
It is unclear where, or when, the original video was filmed. The Daily Dot has reached out to Joy.
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