Viral Cardiff prank video sparks shock reactions

An Instagram prankster has gone viral after convincing strangers on the streets of Cardiff that they are eating cat meat.

A clip from content creator TJ, who posts under the username Whytooj, shows a member of the public being asked to guess the type of meat they are eating, before being told that it is cat.

‘Street prank’ videos, alongside other content filmed in public and involving strangers, have gained popularity with the rise of apps such as TikTok and the addition of reels to Instagram.

The short-form videos echo the style of traditional vox pops, capturing spontaneous reactions from members of the public. Often they include ‘shocking’ or chaotic twists designed to go viral.

Whytooj’s cat meat prank on Cardiff’s Queen Street, posted on March 13, has received over 2 million views and 113,000 likes.

In the video captioned ‘Auntie was tweaking 😭 #cardiff #prank’, TJ, dressed in chef hat and offering a tray of meat, tells a woman that she will win £20 if she can guess what kind of meat it is.

The woman suggests that “it looks like pork”, but TJ is quick to tell her she’s incorrect. “What does it taste like?” Asks the prankster.

The woman responds that it looks like beef. “Beef? It’s not beef,” replies TJ. “Go on, you’ve got one more guess.”

The woman then guesses chicken, and that it is not meat at all, but eventually TJ explains that “basically what we’re trying to do today is we’re trying to educate people that cat is good for the body.”

The woman is visibly shocked, and begins to spit out the meat and shriek, attracting the attention of passersby.

“It’s got a lot of protein in it,” TJ says through laughter.

“Are you sure it’s cat? I don’t like it, it’s not good. I have four cats at home,” the woman says, walking away.

“Maybe your cat can be next. We’re buying cats, £5 per kilo. If you want to donate your cat to our business…” TJ responds.

 

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The prankster giggles as his victim roundly refuses and walks away, possibly without being told it was not actually cat meat she had eaten.

Commenters enjoyed the joke and were left “howling at her reaction”, with one playing along, writing: “Why did she spit it out, cat is very good!”

Another took the opportunity to launch an ethical discussion, saying: “If people are fine eating chickens and pigs and that they should have no issue eating other animals.”

Based in the southwest, many of Whytooj’s pranks take place on the streets of Cardiff city centre. Another of his popular series includes ‘blind dates’ where the creator sets up two strangers, often with unsuccessful but hilarious results.

With 54.5k followers, his content is popular among Welsh and international social media users, and taps into a long-running genre of online prank videos. The ‘prank’ hashtag on Instagram has over 5.6m posts.

However, such pranks often blur the line between humour and causing distress, and not everyone was impressed with Whytooj’s effort.

A sympathetic commenter wrote that “that’s really upsetting if she has a cat. I hope she’s okay.” Another said: “Social media has gone too far. This is what normalizing harassment looks like. Like why would anyone want to cause someone unnecessary stress or even trauma?”

Another user suggest a simple solution: “Anyone ever pulls that joke on me, they’re losing their teeth.”