A TikTok video of a daughter-in-law confronting her mother’s now ex-boyfriend for cheating went viral with more than 29.3 million views—and some users say it’s inspiring them to stand up for others.
“I want people to find their voice, especially for people who don’t have one,” the daughter-in-law, Hannah says in one of her videos. “If you cheat, imma call your ass out.”
The video only shows a few seconds of Hannah’s heated confrontation with the ex-boyfriend, whose name is Dick.
“Can you own up to anything? Are you that much of a coward?” Hannah yells. “Are you that much of a pussy to cheat on a woman that loves you? Gave you a home? Gave you everything?”
Hannah explains that leading up to the confrontation, her mother-in-law Jonna said she had a feeling Dick was cheating on her. Hannah says she created a fake Facebook account to message Dick, who instantly flirted with the fake account.
Hannah says in one of her videos that Jonna, who is deaf, has a hard time speaking up for herself and that others have a hard time understanding her. Hannah said before she walked with Jonna and her fiance into Jonna’s RV where Dick was staying, Hannah had a feeling that something was going to happen and started filming.
“We were really hoping that it was going to remain calm and collected,” Hannah told the Daily Dot. “And it just escalated and he got defensive.”
“She showed you love,” Hannah yells at Dick in the video. “She showed you respect.” The video shows Jonna’s eyes flicking back and forth between Hannah and Dick, and she looks visibly upset.
“It’s almost like you were speaking for her,” one user commented. “Her facial expressions showed exactly what she was feeling and you were expressing it for her verbally.”
Hannah says in her series of explanation videos that Dick tried to deny cheating because he didn’t do anything physical. Some men in the comments also said people were making a big deal out of nothing.
“It was just disgusting,” Hannah says. “This man had no respect for any of us, especially my mother-in-law and I really care about this family … I was not hesitant to speak my mind.”
Other viewers were confused about why online flirting or emotional cheating was not considered cheating to some men. “Is there a difference?” one user commented. “Am I the only one?”
The confrontation eventually escalated into a physical fight, which Hannah says Dick started. Hannah says she was relieved that she filmed the altercation to prevent having to go to court.
“I’ve grown up in a rough childhood and I’m used to having to record things or have evidence for things,” Hannah told the Daily Dot. “My immediate thought was, ‘I need to record every bit of this just in case—if something bad happens and the police get called.'”
Hannah says her motivation for posting the video isn’t views. “I wanted to really give people chills and make them want to do that because it’s so important,” Hannah says.
Hanna said that Jonna being her mother-and-law and deaf made “providing a voice for others” that much more personal and real.
“It was terrifying but it was liberating at the same time,” Hannah says in a video. “I wanted people to see that to hopefully encourage others to stand up for what’s right, call people out on their shit, whether they’re your parents, your friends, your boyfriend.”
In one video, Hanna translates for Jonna, who uses sign language, as she describes her point of view. Jonna says the experience made her hurt and mad but that she has been amazed by the love and views that the video has garnered.
“She’s really hoping that in the deaf community on TikTok, they’ll be able to see it and feel encouraged by it as well,” Hannah told the Daily Dot. “She’s doing so much better, so much happier, and she’s just really excited.”
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