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The internet cavalry has come to the defense of a bride-to-be after her fiancé’s family pulled a so-called “prank” on her, with many claiming the stunt is nothing short of “bullying”.
In the now-deleted TikTok, the woman, Libby, is seen standing with her soon-to-be in-laws, all dressed in matching shirts and fun-run gear.
They appear pumped for a 10K race, a tradition in the US commonly known as a “Turkey Trot” that occurs during the Thanksgiving holiday.
The clip, originally posted by her fiancé’s sister, featured the text: “Convinced my brother’s fiancee that we’re an intense Turkey Trot family… and that we run a full 10K every year.”
But the excitement quickly sours.
As the family poses for a group photo, one woman suddenly yells, “We’re kidding. There’s no race”.
Libby’s face drops instantly. Another woman grabs her by the arms as she stands there stunned, before laughing and declaring, “Welcome to the family, Libby”.
The bride-to-be manages a, “Are you serious?” while the rest of the group erupts into laughter and high-fives.
Despite a family member sharing footage from the dramatic moment, Libby’s true feelings in the moment remain unclear.
But online that hasn’t stopped viewers from speculating, with many having no trouble siding with her.
Reaction videos have since flooded social media, with creators — both professional and armchair experts – reposting the deleted footage and weighing in on the stunt.
Melbourne psychologist Carly Dober, from Enriching Lives Psychology, says the prank was “unnecessary” given the emotional investment.
“This prank is cruel because time, energy and other resources are finite, especially for people who are juggling work or study and other relationships…. It’s essentially just a waste of time and very disrespectful,” Dober told news.com.au.
She explained that while low-risk pranks can be funny when there’s an established dynamic, this situation crossed a line.
“If this prank is not expected and there has been a significant time expended here, it can impact the relationship significantly,” she explained.
“Mental health can be impacted because they’ve wasted their time on almost nothing, they might also feel like they’re in law does not respect or like them.”
Some social media users agreed with Ms Dober, with one user labelling the family a “bunch of jive turkeys”.
“The family decide to tell her weeks in advance… so she starts training, she gets brand new shoes, spends hundreds of dollars on it, the fiance is watching her train and then because they say she’s the newest member they put her in this goofy tutu and this goofier hat and then on the day of they all lined up pretending they were gonna do this run and then they just ha ha,” the user speculated in the criticism.
“If I were in her shoes, I’d have felt just as horrified, just as humiliated, just as isolated and excluded… You can see it in her face. It’s like she dissociates.”
Another creator suggested “a prank that lasts longer than four minutes is bullying”.
Meanwhile, people expressed concern that this would now be part of her digital footprint, due to how viral the moment has become.
Others, however, insisted the outrage was overblown.
“No, because why is everyone convinced she trained for months? Like when did they say that?” one user questioned.
“People are acting like she got shot,” another argued.
“I’ve heard everyone’s opinion except hers,” a third pointed out.
The timing also plays a role in the public outcry, Ms Dober said.
“The holiday season can exacerbate whatever tensions and ruptures already exist between people, and the one you have with your in-laws is no different,” she explained.
People can have high expectations of the holiday season, and compare their situation to others… this can be a source of pain for them.
This, she says, is likely why viewers immediately recognized the familiar sting in the video.
“This prank shows that some in-laws have little understanding about the impacts these pranks could have on their family members, and it also shows a lack of tact and mindfulness.
“Small pranks can be funny when done in good faith, but something like this is probably unnecessary and unkind.”
