A white TikToker is being accused of using her Black boyfriend as a “prop” in a Thanksgiving-themed video.
TikToker Caden Riley (@cadenriley) posted a video to her page in anticipation of the big holiday. Captioned “When you show up to Thanksgiving with your Black boyfriend,” the video shows Riley and her boyfriend, Tyler Tucker, entering the screen from the left. Riley mouths along to audio from Jim Carrey’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, appearing to poke fun at family members who would react negatively to Tucker’s race. In the background, Tucker smiles for the camera but does little else.
Riley’s video is not sitting well with many viewers. It has since been removed from her TikTok, but not before it spread to Twitter. There, people are tearing into the video and accusing Riley of using Tucker as a “prop.”
Twitter user @erectums gave voice to many critics when he reposted the video. “My brotha just sitting there being a prop LMFAOOO,” he wrote. “Free us from these shackles.”
Other users echoed @erectum’s sentiment but dropped his jesting tone and legitimately condemned Riley.
“She using him for her rebellious phase someone save that man,” one user wrote.
“Look like she got him off the auction block,” another added.
But other people defended the couple, including one user who claimed to be Tucker’s mother.
“I’m reading these comments and y’all really want to trend for taking these videos and turning into something else,” @Missflyygirl_ tweeted. “Why don’t you share the other videos of them. That girl ain’t being rebellious her parents love him. Anything for likes tho. Signed his mom.”
Other users agreed that the teens should be free to do whatever makes them happy. “Well this is what they want, so he is lovin his white qween,” one person wrote.
As @Missflyygirl_ noted, Riley’s TikTok account is littered with videos of her and Tucker. Others show Riley solo, but thinking or joking about her beau. In most videos featuring Tucker, he is a quiet, smiling presence in the background.
In a solo follow-up post, Riley alluded to the backlash her Thanksgiving video with Tucker received. The clip shows her mouthing along to a snippet of Nicki Minaj’s “Yikes” (“Any backtalk? It’s quiet, ain’t no backtalk”) and sports the text, “when everyone was saying you were posting your boyfriend for clout but also started posting the video.”
Neither Riley nor @Missflyygirl_ immediately responded to the Daily Dot’s requests for comment, but for now, all parties seem relatively unperturbed by the Thanksgiving-themed backlash.
More on TikTok
| Everything you need to know to get started on TikTok |
| A slowed-down song and a slow zoom trend collide on TikTok |
| People have questions about this TikToker’s skull collection |
| Sign up to receive the best of the internet in your inbox. |
