Just when you think you’ve seen it all, you see something so outrageous it boggles the mind. There’s nothing worse in childhood than finding out you’ve lost a beloved family pet. Whether it’s a dog, cat, or even your first pet guinea pig, losing an animal is usually the first time a kid experiences grief. What most kids don’t experience, however, is having a parent exploit that grief for views.
YouTube star Jordan Cheyenne was known for posting beauty and lifestyle content, with videos teaching women on how to be “girl bosses” and prep healthy meals for losing weight. She had actually reached a pretty decent following of over 500,000 YouTube subscribers and over 130,000 followers on Instagram before posting the now-infamous video.
The video, titled “We are heartbroken”, shows Cheyenne telling her 8-year-old son that their dog had contracted a disease called parvo, which can cause severe illness in unvaccinated dogs. Her son is seen crying in the background as Cheyenne asks the audience to pray for them and their dog. Then, after she thinks she’s turned off the video, the unthinkable happens.
“Come here, come closer for the video,” she says to her crying son. “Put your head right here. Act like you’re crying.”
“I am crying,” he says.
“No, I know, but go like this,” she says, making a fake crying face.
He attempts to follow her directions, but is clearly too distraught to comply. “I am actually crying,” he says several times in the video while she continues to coach him.
Upon realizing what the video contained, Cheyenne quickly deleted it, but it was too late. The video instantly went viral, with viewers incensed at her callous manipulation of her son.
The Apology
She posted a video apologizing for her actions, saying, “I want to let you know I’m so disgusted with myself for posing for a thumbnail on such an emotional video. It made me take a step back and realize I need to just be way more present in the moment and not even be thinking about anything like this when things are happening in my life.”
She later deleted her account, saying, “I want people to know that I’ve deleted my channel. People think I deactivated my channel, but I deleted it. I have no sponsors, no pay, no monetization. I’ve given up all of that to be behind the scenes and extremely present with my child and get us both into counseling.”
But, of course, nothing lasts forever. Cheyenne later reactivated her YouTube account, where she continues to post beauty and lifestyle videos for her followers. It’s difficult to say whether she’s learned anything from the experience, but at least her son doesn’t seem to be a prop in any of her videos anymore.
Social media does seem to bring out the worst in us sometimes–callous parenting, dangerous gender reveals, bizzare plastic surgery. We can only hope that incidents like these serve as a warning to other influencers willing to do whatever it takes for a like.
