You have already reached a new low in the race for viral fame. One self-described “food experimenter” from the United States has stirred outrage after a video documenting her pouring an entire serving of butter chicken an Indian favorite into her sneakers and then devouring it.
The Disturbing Footage
This brief clip, shared Tuesday, Feb. 11, shows the woman carefully lining a pair of her own used sneakers with plastic wrap. She then slips a sizable mound of butter chicken, along with gravy and bits of meat, into both shoes. She follows it up with a spoon and eats the meal head on, straight out of the shoes. There is some really playful quirky music playing in the video, so you can imagine the creators being a bit funny or edgy.
The Internet Reacted With Horror and Disgust
Reaction on social media sites have been negative (lots of hate speech, revulsion, outraged users and claim they were culturally offensive).
- “This is peak social media degeneracy,” said one user on X, echoing hundreds of other perspectives. Butter chicken is a dish of history and culture.
- “It is hurtful for clicks to take this way,” another wrote, citing what they felt were cultural insensitivity.
- Many remarked not just about the sheer unhygienic nature of the act, but also about how plastic its lining was, describing it as “nauseating” and “a public health hazard.”
- Food waste also became an issue, while the public groused about wasting food in the service of a shock stunt.
The video has received millions of views, but the comment sections are filled with users calling for it to be taken down as well as “gross content.”
Trend to Go Viral: It is a Growing Thing?
This is not an isolated story. Here too there has been a disturbing phenomenon in the last decades, where instead of being original or intentional in what they promote, influencers have participated in increasingly bizarre and aggressive activities to garner more views and engagement.
Whether challenging someone who blows even a simple challenge or disrespecting food or the public’s space, creators are testing the waters and doing whatever they can to exceed expectations as they undermine our sense of decency and also the integrity of food safety and public health. The Influencer who put together the butter chicken stunt has not given a final comment, but the global commotion is instructive of how slippery that line is as far as creative vs loathsome goes these days.
