Online pranksters are known for doing whatever it takes to get views, but one YouTuber may have gone too far with a plot involving fake kidnapping and murder.
Sam Pepper boasts over 2 million YouTube subscribers for his prank videos, but Pepper has drawn ire for a video posted on Sunday in which he tricks a friend by staging an elaborate murder.
Colby, of the Sam and Colby YouTube channel, joined forces with Pepper to prank his comedy partner Sam Golbach. While Golbach and Colby were on their way to meet Pepper, they ran into some "car troubles." Golbach and Colby were inspecting the car when a masked Pepper attacked Golbach, pulling a mask over his head and shoving him into the trunk of the car.
The video then cuts to Golbach tied to a chair as Pepper holds Colby at gunpoint. Golbach pleads for his friend's life, saying, "He's all I've got!" and "We're just kids!"
Pepper then "shoots" Colby in the head, leaving Golbach shaking and crying.
Despite the video concluding with all three YouTubers laughing, critics and fans of Pepper were unimpressed. The majority of comments on the video express disgust, with some condemning Pepper in saying they would unsubscribe from his channel.
This isn't the first video from Pepper to receive backlash. In 2014, the YouTuber came under fire for a video called "Fake Hand Ass Pinch Prank." In it, he donned a fake hand to distract women from his real hand, which he used to pinch their butts.
"Fake Hand Ass Pinch Prank" has since been removed from his channel but is still available here. Pepper apologized for the video, but it seems past controversy hasn't affected his choices.
Despite being frightened to the point of tears, Golbach defended the staged murder video on Twitter, telling fans he wasn't upset and expected to be pranked at some point. He said, "If anything, this made Colby an I's friendship much stronger..."
For those of you that watched Sam Pepper's video... pic.twitter.com/vg7C9coKR0
Even if Golbachh is not upset by the event, pranks this convincing and traumatizing can set a dangerous precedent as to how far YouTubers will go for the sake of entertainment.
Sam Pepper was trending internationally on Twitter on Monday afternoon. A petition to deactivate his YouTube channel was launched Monday morning and has garnered more than 11,000 signatures.
Sam Pepper did not immediately respond to NTRSCTN's request for comment.
UPDATED 3:28 p.m. ET: Additional details about online petition included.
