Prank culture is a big part of social media, perhaps most prevalently on TikTok, where the short video format might make a successful prank go viral in only a few hours.
Users seeking clout have created entire accounts dedicated to pranking. Taking advantage of unwary shoppers in stores such as Home Depot, Walmart, and Target is a popular method of gaining shock currency.
At least one user of the platform is telling his viewers that these pranksters are far from merry. They’re crossing the line.
J. W. Gallo (@jwgallo) posted a video to his TikTok account on Saturday. In it, he claims to be trying to “get out ahead” of another video. That video, he says, features him getting pranked. The video, he hints, has yet to be posted by the prankster. The Daily Dot has found no evidence of it online.
Gallo captioned his video, “Pranks are not cool!” It currently has over 690,200 views and counting.
“I’d like to get out ahead of this. I was pranked today,” Gallo says at the beginning of the video. “For a TikTok in Milford, Connecticut, at a Target by some teens. It was not funny.”
The shopping cart prank
Gallo claims that he left his cart, with items in it, to look for socks. He states that the unidentified teens “took my cart and hid it from me.”
“I then spent the next 15 to 20 minutes looking for my shopping cart, had no idea where it was, and then I asked for help from Target from one of their lovely associates,” Gallo states.
He then claims the “teens” were “filming me that whole time, … and then, when I found them with my cart, they filmed my reaction. And I was ticked, and I’ll say it was maybe not the best look for me. And they thought it was hilarious.”
“I’ll be honest,” Gallo states in the video. “It’s not funny to prank people.” At this point, Gallo appears to stifle his own laughter.
“I’m getting out ahead of this. It’s not cool. Don’t do it. It’s not a good prank. It’s evil. … So, if you see that video on TikTok, say that it’s bad and that I was in the right,” he concludes.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Target via email for a statement.
With the exception of the instant of seemingly stifled laughter, Gallo appears to be sincere. Although one could choose to believe he’s engaging in a mild prank himself given the lack of evidence or the appearance of the video he claims the “teens” made.
@jwgallo Pranks are not cool! #fyp #pranks #prank #tiktok #foryoupage ♬ Storytelling – Adriel
Viewers weigh in
However, his anti-prank message resounded with his viewers.
“I am not a fan of pranks in general. Humor at the expense of others has never been funny to me,” Pamela’s Art Designs (@pamelawarman1) wrote.
Misty Wilson (@mistywilson06) added, “To me, that’s a prank you pull on a friend, or family member that you KNOW.. not a random stranger. sorry this happened to you!”
Gallo responded, “Agree pranks are sick and twisted.”
Another viewer commented, “You never know what someone’s going through. I’d be upset because it takes a lot for me to make it through a store without feeling a lot of anxiety and physical symptoms.”
But some viewers appeared to take Gallo’s testimony with a grain of salt.
“I feel like this other video is gonna actually be hilarious because I feel like I was Pranked watching this,” Jean Obrien (@jeannieobrien2) wrote.
“I feel like this is a prank,” another person commented.
Pranks in retail stores can have serious consequences
Real or not, online pranks have resulted in serious consequences in the past. A woman named Lana Clay-Monaghan of Tustin, Calif. was reportedly hospitalized after a group of boys at Target placed a bin over her head, triggering an epileptic seizure.
In 2022, TikTok user @jaykindafunny8 found himself thrown to the floor and tackled in a Home Depot after he tried to prank a shopper by blowing a megaphone in his ear. The man he “pranked” happened to be a professional bodyguard.
And in 2023, a woman named Areline Martínez was, according to Distractify, shot and killed while filming a “staged kidnapping video she and several of her friends had made to upload onto the popular social media video platform.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Gallo via email and TikTok messenger for further comment.
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