Vlogger’s “Father’s Day Prank” On Dad Who Just Died, Backfires

• Keith Valens posted a video showing himself grieving over his father’s dead body.
• A lot of commenters got turned off with the posting and they question the vlogger’s intentions, accusing him of profiting off his father’s death.
• But there are also lots of people who defended Keith and felt that his grief is genuine and there’s no greedy intent behind the posting of the video.

How much is too much when it comes to sharing personal moments online? This is the hot debate online right now after a Filipino vlogger shared a video of himself crying hysterically and clutching his father’s dead body.

The father apparently died shortly before the vlogger’s arrival at the former’s hospital bed.

The fact that such a sensitive moment was captured on camera, posted online, AND that it had YouTube ads drew the ire of netizens.

A lot of them felt that the vlogger totally disrespected his father by what he did.

The story of the video, which was titled “SURPRISING DAD ON FATHER’S DAY (SADDEST DAY OF MY LIFE),” goes like this: Keith Talens was planning a surprise prank on his dad for father’s day. The vlogger initially planned to pose as his own fan and give the father a gift.

The video started with Keith and his family in a car, on the way to his dad’s location, and discussing his plans for the prank.

During this moment, the tone of the video is sentimental, but still lighthearted. It looked like Keith had no idea what was in store for him later on.

After a little more than six minutes into the video, the camera cuts to a heartbreaking scene – Keith sobbing hysterically in front of his father’s hospital bed. The old man passed away just moments before Keith’s arrival, which apparently caught the son by surprise.

While Keith was supposedly consumed by grief, someone else was filming the entire scene.

The video was uploaded on June 15 and has now more than 3 million views and counting.

People bombarded the comments section on YouTube with highly mixed reactions. Twitter also exploded with posts questioning the young man’s motives in relation to posting the sensitive video.

There is this vlogger Keith Talens who had just lost his father and I understand how heartbreaking it was (i lost mine too). But is the death of your father really necessary for you to make it a content of your vlog and post it in social media?

— Ping Guerrero ❌ (@gabrant001) June 16, 2019

I don’t know the full Keith Talens story but I think it is completely disrespectful to show your fathers body to the camera. If your intention was to showcase your planned surprise, then you should’ve cut the video by the time you saw your father.

— 𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕤 (@whenisaynassif) June 16, 2019

Of course, there are others who defended the vlogger from critics.

Just saw kuya Keith Talens recent vlog. And it really broke my heart. 😭💔 imagine na isusurprise nya sana ang daddy nya for father's day but in the end sya pa yung na surprise na his dad is gone. 😭💔

My deepest condolences to you kuya Keith and to your family.😭😭 pic.twitter.com/zIT42v92Pl

— mik 🧡💛 (@_milkymaea) June 16, 2019

That video I saw from Keith Talens in yt is really heartbreaking. Surprising your father on Father's Day then ended up surprising you. My condolences to you bro. 💔

— Jepoy (@Jethrojade) June 16, 2019

The whole thing prompted Keith to post a follow-up video for his defense.

He explained in Filipino, “I’m not the kind of person who would create a vlog about his father knowing his father’s dead. And to fake all of it? I don’t even think I could blog anymore.”

The second video was uploaded a day after the first one and has currently earned 1.5 million views.

The subject for debate was not just the matter of uploading videos with graphic content – aside from respecting the sensitivity of viewers, there’s also YouTube’s strict content policy to consider – but more on the motives of the vlogger in doing so.

Was he actually thinking of gaining monetary profit from his father’s death? How could someone in the middle of grief take the time and the heart to edit a video, place ads on it, and post it for the world to see?