Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the latest viral parenting trend—slapping American cheese on your baby’s face and posting their reaction on social media—has reared its ugly head.
The bizarre phenomenon, accompanied by the hashtag #cheesed, was started on Twitter by @unclehxlmes after he shared a mysterious video of a baby getting hit in the face with a slice of cheese.
“Just cheesed my lil brother,” he joked, unaware that the post was about to go viral.
Soon after, he sent out another message, advising his followers that he deleted the original tweet.
“Just to let you all know, that cheese tweet isn’t my lil brother and I’ve deleted it,” he penned. “Didn’t expect it to get THAT viral lmaoooo.”
https://twitter.com/unclehxlmes/status/1101609162872635403?s=21
But it DID go that viral, and his followers could not understand why he chose to destroy the evidence.
So, he decided to send a follow-up tweet, explaining his actions and attaching a formal apology.
“A lot of people are asking why I deleted the cheese tweet,” he began. “I deleted it because it genuinely got way out of hand.”
explanation to why i deleted it, if u wanna ask anything just dm me pic.twitter.com/FXl2INd1Hn
— yungholmes VE (@unclehxlmes) March 1, 2019
His message went on, saying he never expected the post to reach news articles or turn into a trend.
“I saw the video on Facebook,” he confessed, “and did the typical nab tweet for a joke on Twitter.”
Not long after posting, however, @unclehxlmes says he began receiving direct messages from news agencies asking if they could upload and broadcast the video across all of their social media platforms.
“I obviously said no,” he stated, “and this is where I decided to delete it.”
And then, as if channeling every parent who has ever regretted posting a video of his or her child on Facebook, came a heartfelt apology.
“I have spoken to the child’s mother and explained why I have deleted it,” he wrote. “It was very invasive to the family and I would like to apologize.”
Unfortunately, his kind words and thought-provoking message only reached a few people on social media. Everyone else seemed to show their support by throwing their own kids (and pets) under the cheese bus and posting their reactions online.
I’m not sure how you guys feel about it, but between eating Tide Pods, Birdboxing children and throwing cheese at babies, I’ve sort of given up on humanity.
