On Jimmy Kimmel Live! there’s an ongoing skit segment where “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets”, showcasing (as the name suggests) superstars reading hurtful tweets from average schmucks.
Since celebrities are too privileged to bear the weight of feelings, it’s a good chuckle for us, reminding them that before they drove around in their golden Lamborghinis and swam in Luis Vuitton pools full of naked models, they too were once human:
Obama reads mean tweets (via @ashleyhollabakk) http://t.co/KWtXcF86ed pic.twitter.com/4McY3fh37y
— Power 106 (@Power106LA) March 13, 2015
On March 11th, The Canadian Safe School Network and advertisement agency John St. published a video on YouTube titled “Kids Read Mean Tweets” which parodies the “Mean Tweets” series and takes the format to a whole new level.
What starts off as presumed and familiar comedy turns into an inevitable backslap of reality proving once again that Canadians know better than us: Cyber-bullying is no joke.
At first, a young girl reads a tweet slut shaming her with accompanying background laughter. The final kid on the screen lowers her head, reading a tweet that says, “No one likes you. Do everyone a favour. Just kill yourself.” before walking off the set.
“It’s easy to laugh at rich celebrities reading some of the terrible things people have said about them online. We condone it. We even revel in it,” the advertiser, Canadian Safe School Network, said in a statement, as reported by AdWeek.
“But this same behavior is turning almost 40 percent of Canadian kids into victims of cyberbullying. It’s a growing epidemic that invades their lives and leaves many feeling like there’s no way out.”
Canadian Safe Schools even launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise money, which would go into spreading the video around and raise awareness about the troubling issue.
It’s unclear of whether or not the tweets are legitimate, as a Twitter search didn’t turn up or match some of the tweets featured in the video. Even if the messages are fabricated, it doesn’t derail the fact that cyber bullying is ongoing issue that pushes children to an early grave.
Here’s hoping that some of those millions of nightly viewers that watch talk shows take a gander at a more serious issue. Perhaps NBC or Mr. Kimmel can find it in their hearts to make the video more prominent.