A teenage TikTok star is on the receiving end of furious backlash after she filmed her dog with his head seemingly stuck in a jar of treats — and could be heard laughing in the background instead of helping him get out.
California-born Lauren Kettering, 17, has 6.2 million TikTok followers, but she is now seeing herself the target of intense hatred for a video that showed her dog Rocky with his head apparently caught in a plastic jar.
Social media users are accusing her of ‘animal abuse,’ calling her ‘disgusting’ for laughing and recording her dog’s ‘traumatic’ moment while scolding her for putting his life in danger while she racked up TikTok likes — but Lauren insists he was never in any danger and there was space for him to get out of the jar himself.
Filmed: California-born TikTok star Lauren Kettering, 17, shared a video of her dog Rocky with his head seemingly stuck in a jar of treats. She could be heard laughing behind the camera
Dog mom: Lauren insists Rocky was never in any danger and there was space for him to get out of the jar himself
Damage control: The teen, who has has 6.2 million TikTok followers, has since deleted the video
The video has since been removed, though a screenshot from Snapchat was shared on Twitter by user Def Noodles.
‘DAILY DOSE OF STUPID: TikToker Lauren Kettering films her dog with head stuck in treat jar,’ the account tweeted.
‘Laughs instead of helping dog. Gets backlash with people saying “lauren kettering is disgusting and a animal abuser.”
The image shows Rocky with his head inside a plastic jar of dog treats. Lauren does not appear in the frame and does not make an immediate effort to free him, though she later insisted that he was safe.
Lauren could reportedly be heard laughing in the video, which has rubbed many people the wrong way.
‘F*** LAUREN KETTERING FOR WATCHING HER DOG SUFFER AND LAUGHING. F*** YOU,’ wrote one angry Twitter user.
Reaction: Social media users are accusing her of ‘animal abuse,’ calling her ‘disgusting’ for laughing and recording her dog’s ‘traumatic’ moment
‘Okay wow this is actually awful. I thought it’d be wider. Seeing what it actually is is horrific… I just wouldn’t even think to record it?? I’d want to have my dog??’ said another.
‘That would have been traumatic for the dog,’ tweeted a third.’ ‘I would absolutely freak out if I had something stuck on my head like that and couldn’t get it off. Even worse if instead of being helped people found it funny and laughed and videoed it.’
Another said: ‘Imagine your dog gets in danger and the first thing you think about is “oh let me grab my phone and post this on tiktok.” She is lucky the dog didn’t suffocate.’
‘I actually hate lauren kettering. imagine seeing a puppy struggling to breathe and then videotaping it and laughing. seriously disgusting [sic],’ someone else said.
‘Lauren kettering is a sick animal abuser who recorded her own puppy almost die while laughing about it,’ one more chimed in.
One commenter said that their corgi died with a chip bag on his head after going through the kitchen garbage.
Sorry: Lauren has since responded to the backlash, insisting that her dog was never actually stuck and the video was ‘cut short.’
‘He sometimes puts his head in looking for treats for a few seconds. There’s space for him to get out. I would never do anything bad to my dog,’ she said
‘It’s not funny,’ she agreed. ‘But in the moment, not thinking — because he does it himself. Like, I’ve never put anything over his head’
‘It’s obvious I love my dogs and would do anything for them,’ she wrote, adding that the cruel messages she has been sent are uncalled for
‘This is real, and anyone that’s lost a beloved pet this way KNOWS,’ they said.
Lauren has since responded to the backlash, insisting that her dog was never actually stuck and the video was ‘cut short.’
‘He sometimes puts his head in looking for treats for a few seconds. There’s space for him to get out. I would never do anything bad to my dog,’ she said. ‘I am not an animal abuser.
‘It’s obvious I love my dogs and would do anything for them,’ she wrote, adding that the cruel messages she has been sent are uncalled for.
She also went on Instagram Live, appearing on the verge of tears as she addressed her critics.
‘It’s not funny,’ she agreed. ‘But in the moment, not thinking — because he does it himself. Like, I’ve never put anything over his head.’
She said that immediately after the video was taken, the jar was removed from the dog’s head and thrown out.
‘I do hear what you guys are saying, train your dog, train your dog. My dogs actually have training today,’ she said. ‘They’re just puppies.’