Staged video’s backlash continues
Creators wanted to draw attention to child abuse
A staged video meant to raise awareness about child sexual abuse has gone viral — but now the Milwaukee creators are facing backlash and threats from online viewers who believe the footage is real.
The video depicts a woman being confronted by her daughter, who says the woman’s boyfriend touched her inappropriately. The woman responds with anger and disbelief.
“It was meant to look real because it was based on a real incident,” said Elizabeth Brown, a Milwaukee-based author who plays the mother in the short video.
Brown, a survivor of child sexual abuse, and her daughter are the authors of the “Lizzy Bee The Busy Bee” series. The books serve as tools for parents and educators to talk to children about difficult topics, such as molestation, abuse and sex trafficking.
Brown and community advocate Tory Lowe teamed up on the video. They both are running for Milwaukee aldermanic seats in the spring election.
They said they based the video on a real situation Lowe encountered when helping a mother track down her missing daughter in 2018.
“This is a huge problem in our neighborhood, and that’s why we did it,” Lowe said.
Lowe first posted the video on his Facebook page, which has about 60,000 followers, on Feb. 3, 2019 — Super Bowl Sunday — with the title: “16 YEAR OLD EXPOSES MOTHERS BOYFRIEND FOR MOLESTING HER BUT MOTHER DOESN’T BELIEVE HER.” As of Wednesday, the video had nearly 4 million views on his page.
In the video’s description, Lowe wrote it “is based on a true story.”
The video was downloaded and reposted without that context on other websites, including Worldstar Hip-Hop , where it got nearly another million views. Lowe reshared the video last month on his Facebook page, writing: “Based on a true story.”
Late Tuesday, the video went viral again after a Detroit radio station shared the WorldStar version of it on Instagram. Actor and rapper Tyrese Gibson then shared the station’s post on his verified Instagram page, where the video got more than 770,000 views and 6,000 comments in 18 hours.
None of those posts indicated the video was a staged reenactment. Brown’s social media accounts were inundated Wednesday with requests and messages.
“It’s been crazy,” she said. “On social media, it’s like everybody’s an investigator. We’ve been getting some threats about what they’re going to do if they see me or saying the mother is disgusting.”
The video has achieved one goal, she said, because people are talking about the topic.
“The purpose was ... for it to hit home. It’s real and it’s happening,” Brown said, adding: “It can be eradicated if we educate our children beforehand; then they know what it looks like ... if we’re preparing them on issues on consent, understanding body parts and personal space.”
“The silence is the sickness,” she said.
Resources: The National Sexual Assault Hotline is (800) 656-4673 and the National Child Abuse Hotline is (800) 422-4453.
“This is a huge problem in our neighborhood, and that’s why we did it.” Tory Lowe Community advocate