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‘U know u can get locked up right?’: Dad jokes that daughter missed 217 days of school, sparking debate in viral TikTok

‘How is she not expelled?’

Photo of Rebekah Harding

Rebekah Harding

a father smiling (l) a father making a funny surprised expression (r)

A now-viral TikTok shows one user’s parent joking that he doesn’t care that his daughter missed “217 days of school,” sparking debate in the comments.

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In the video posted by Abbi McMahan (@abbi.mcmahan) on Feb. 9, McMahan’s parent lip-syncs to TikTok audio that says, “‘No!’ That’s me if I gave a fuck,” in a sarcastic tone.

Text overlay on the clip reads, “Your daughter hasn’t been to school since the 2nd week and has 217 absences.”

McMahan later clarified in a comment, “He’s not neglectful this is a joke.”

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The video reached over 26.5 million views by Monday, with users discussing the implications of missing this much school in the comments. 

“U know u can get locked up right?’ one user asked. 

“How is she not expelled,” another wrote.

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“As much as I love supportive parents, wouldn’t this be considered truancy?” a third asked.

Should McMahan have actually been absent for that much of the school year, she and her parent could have been charged with truancy—unjustified absence from compulsory education—which, depending on the state, could have resulted in a hefty fine or jail time as a consequence. 

Despite the viral joke, McMahan seems to be doing just fine. She wrote, “3.8 gpa btw,” in a pinned comment. 

The Daily Dot reached out to McMahan via TikTok comment. 

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