What started out as a wholesome trend to help moms has swiftly turned into a disruptive money grab.
Trends come and go on TikTok. Some of them are fun and cute, others incite rage, and some are just plain dangerous.
In recent days, this trend has stood out for its sentimentality and generosity toward struggling parents of young kids. But of course, someone had to ruin it.
Backstory
Earlier in the month, creator DeNaesha Gonzalez (@denaeshagonzalez) posted a heart-wrenching video.
See, mom Gonzalez was walking around Target when she noticed something strange in the baby aisle.
A lone silver purse tucked in between the baby lotion and baby medicines.
Gonzalez, a mother herself, envisioned a mom tight on funds, abandoning the purse she wanted for herself to afford the items she needed for her baby.
“She deserved the purse,” the text overlay on the video read.
“To the Mother who chose themselves last, you deserve the world tonight and always,” she added in the caption.
Moms react
Now, there’s no way of knowing if the purse was abandoned because of this scenario. It could have been a random person who decided they didn’t need it. But with more than 23 million views, the video struck a chord.
Plenty of moms shared their own stories in the comments section.
“I haven’t had my hair done in years. my nails done in years. my clothes come from Walmart. we can’t afford childcare. but my babies have what they need. one day, I’ll have the purse, just not today,” a top comment read.
“I wanted that blouse but she looks so cute in her bluey dress,” a person wrote.
“Crying cause it’s so much more then a purse, it’s a representation of all our sacrifices,” another addded.
@denaeshagonzalez To the Mother who chose themselves last, you deserve the world tonight and always.🤎 #motherhood #motherhoodunplugged #parenting #parentsoftiktok ♬ original sound – 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙗🇵🇱
A new viral trend
In response to Gonzalez’s video, some moms with extra financial means started going to Target and tucking money into different baby items, like diapers, formula, and health kits.
The intention is that an unsuspecting parent will open up their child’s item and be pleasantly surprised by the cash they weren’t expecting.
The creators of these videos are likely hoping that the money will go to a parent who’s constantly making financial sacrifices for their kids or who could use a bit of a money boost.
These videos are having their own viral moment, with one of them at 53 million views (more than double the original) and the other having 6.7 million. For context, if these creators are part of TikTok’s creator fund, they’re likely making the money back.
A good thing ruined
But as we foreshadowed, all good things come to an inevitable end.
A mom shopping at Target just the other day noticed something strange in the baby section.
Several boxes, from medicines to diapers to baby wipes, were haphazardly strewn about with open containers.
It seems that after seeing the wholesome trend, some people (who knows if they’re parents or not) decided to go on a treasure hunt at their local Target to see if they could score some cash.
“This is SAD. i know everyone has seen the ‘she deserved the purse’ trend. but lets no go ruining it for mothers who actually NEED the help!!” Taylor Hall says in the video. “Remember, this is for the moms who had to make that descion to choose their kids needs over theirs.”
@tayylorrhalls this is SAD 😞 i know everyone has seen the “she deserved the purse” trend. but lets no go ruining it for mothers who actually NEED the help!! remeber this is for the moms who had to make that descion to choose their kids needs over theres 🫶🏼 #shedeservedthepurse #trend #mothers #momsoftiktok #singlemom #fyp #baby #texasmoms #momtok ♬ original sound – 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙗🇵🇱
Tabitha Swatosh (@tabithaswatosh), the woman behind the video with 53 million views, also says that seeing this was “so, so sad.”
“What did everyone expect,” a commenter said.
“This is why it shouldn’t have been filmed. If they want to film it for whatever reason – I saw an influencer film herself BUT she actually got gift cards and went up to moms in the aisle,” another added.
The Daily Dot reached out to each creator for comment via email, Instagram direct message and/or TikTok direct message.
In an email, Hall said the following: “The ‘she deserved the purse’ trend evolving into people opening baby packages at Target is definitely a wild shift in how these viral moments play out. What started as a sweet gesture for parents who are struggling has now morphed into people taking advantage of others’ kindness and generosity.”
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
