As soon as Mason Ramsey—colloquially known as the “yodeling Walmart kid”—went viral for his brilliant yodeling rendition of Hank Williams’ “Lovesick Blues,” it seemed like only a matter of time until unsavory details got out about his personal life. Remarkably, that hasn’t happened yet, but a satirical news site recently got into a race-based snafu with a story playing off Ramsey’s viral success.
The website, Huzlers, shared a screenshot of a story that claimed an 11-year-old Black boy was arrested for yodeling in a Walmart. That didn’t actually happen, but the kid in the photo did get in some serious trouble a few years ago. The photo is actually the mugshot of Jarrell Milton, who was arrested for his involvement in a homicide in Omaha, Nebraska, in October 2015.
Milton wasn’t arrested but instead given probation and sent to Boys Town, a treatment facility in Nebraska that works with young people with behavioral problems.
But none of these facts stopped Twitter user @StarryToronto from sharing the fake screenshot alongside a screenshot of Mason Ramsey performing on The Ellen Show with the caption, “Yodeling while White Vs Yodeling while Black.”
https://twitter.com/StarryToronto/status/987012866229395456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fikrd%2Fno-an-11-year-old-black-boy-was-not-arrested-for-yodelling&tfw_creator=ikran&tfw_site=BuzzFeedUK
The tweet has amassed more than 124,000 likes and 71,000 retweets in just two days, and plenty of people added their own outraged responses. @StarryToronto wrote several follow-ups to clarify that his initial tweet was a joke. He even started a poll with the caption, “HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A BLACK PERSON YODELING BEFORE?” Nearly 40,000 people voted, with 92 percent leaning toward “no.”
https://twitter.com/StarryToronto/status/987380368771821568
So, if you come across this tweet on your own timeline, share at your own discretion.
H/T BuzzFeed