In an astonishing turn of events, a man from Belgium devised an elaborate prank to teach his family a lesson about communication. The TikToker, David Baerten, 45 years old, orchestrated a fake death scenario and went as far as crashing his own funeral with a grand entrance via helicopter, capturing the entire spectacle on camera. However, this audacious stunt has sparked a significant backlash on social media.
While social media influencers have been known to go to extreme lengths for attention, faking one’s own death is a rare occurrence. David Baerten hatched a plan to demonstrate the importance of staying connected to his loved ones. He involved his immediate family in what he termed a “social experiment” to make the ruse more convincing. According to indy100, Baerten revealed in an interview on the French chat show “Touche Pas a Mon Poste” that he initially kept his children in the dark about the prank.
One of Baerten’s daughters, genuinely believing her father had passed away, wrote a heartfelt message: “Rest in peace, Daddy. I will never stop thinking about you. Why is life so unfair? Why you? You were going to be a grandfather, and you still had your whole life ahead of you. I love you! We love you! We will never forget you.”
Baerten shared that his film crew insisted on informing his children and sister about the truth before proceeding with the stunt. As part of the prank, he composed an emotional tribute to himself prior to the staged memorial.
The motivation behind Baerten’s extreme action was his feeling of exclusion from family gatherings and a sense of drifting apart. “I never get invited to anything. Nobody sees me,” he expressed to The Times UK. “We all grew apart. I felt unappreciated.”
He further explained, “That’s why I wanted to give them a life lesson and show them that you shouldn’t wait until someone is dead to meet up with them.”
Baerten seized the moment when mourners had assembled for the funeral service, making a breathtaking entrance accompanied by his film crew in a helicopter. Upon landing, he exclaimed, “Cheers to you all. Welcome to my funeral.”
This outrageous prank has garnered significant attention and sparked a wave of criticism on social media platforms.
