YouTube musician and TikTok prankster D’aydrian Harding has yet again bamboozled multiple serious TikTokers. While the original video was posted in late June, it wasn’t until the copycat account, @daydrian_harding_00 reposted it that the short clip went viral. Within two days the video had racked up more than 2 million views and left more than one TikToker convinced the prank was real.
In the short clip, Harding – whose TikTok handle is @daydrianharding – can be seen talking to a cop. Another cop stands just off-screen with D’aydrian’s accuser who claims the singer called him the n-word, and in response, he “squeezed his junk.” Cue one of the most impressive side-eyes to ever grace the internet. Commenters were quick to nominate the cop as the MVP of the situation.
“he’s like “guys pls. I don’t wanna deal with this” user Mo wrote. “He didn’t learn this situation in the academy,” commented another. The befuddled policeman questions the other man’s reasoning before asking him what the difference between grabbing and squeezing actually is. His response is never played, as careful cutting jumps to the end of the altercation. Harding proclaims, “You aren’t gonna arrest him? You could at least shoot him!”
Plenty of viewers missed the joke and were quick to attack the cop for doing nothing about what – if it were real – would have been the very definition of sexual assault. Some pointed out that if it had been a male-to-female crime something would have been done. One user even took it as a sign that the government was “preparing to legalizing pedophilia.” For the most part, however, viewers took the joke as it was intended, a bit of lighthearted dark humor, the exact form of comedy that made the real D’aydrian famous in the first place.
If you or a loved one has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Please reach out to the Domestic Abuse & Sexual Assault Intervention Services.