Lizzie Velasquez, an anti-bullying activist who went viral due to her medical condition, is asking parents to stop using her image as part of a TikTok prank.
RELATED STORIES: TikTok Threatens To Sue Trump Administration Over Executive Order Banning App
Velasquez posted a video on her official TikTok page to urge parents and others to stop using her image for a popular prank that is circulating on the app. She says,’This trend where you are pretending to FaceTime someone who is disabled or is a baby or there’s some crazy mugshot and you’re showing it to someone to get their reaction and say, “Oh hey, talk to this person,” just to get a quick laugh — this is not a joke.’ As reported by the Daily Mail, Velasquez was born with Mafanoid-progeroid-lipodystrophy syndrome, a very rare congenital condition that prevents her from gaining body fat.
@littlelizzievPlease help spread the word! ##FavoriteMemory ##facetimeprank ##facetime♬ original sound – littlelizziev
The TikTok prank involves a parent pretending to go on Facetime with their child’s teacher and showing an “ugly” photo of an individual to record their child’s reaction. Velasquez encouraged parents to teach their children about tolerance rather than “teach them that being scared of someone who doesn’t look like them is okay.”
RELATED STORIES: Teen Allegedly Stabbed His Neighbor To Become TikTok Famous
She continues to say, ‘Please. Everything that these kids need to know about having empathy and being kind to one another starts at home. This is not okay, This is a trend that needs to stop because we are human and we have feelings, so just please keep that in mind.’
The video has reached over 10 million views and Velasquez received supportive comments where several parents claimed they deleted their clips.