Two TikTok fishermen are facing a tsunami of backlash after a disturbing video showed them laughing, posing, and climbing onto the corpse of a dead whale floating in the ocean.
The clip, originally uploaded by TikTok account trinitunafishing01, shows the men stumbling across the whale while out on a boat before jumping into the water and standing on the carcass to take photos. The group is allegedly intoxicated throughout the video.
Although the original upload was quickly deleted from TikTok, the footage spread rapidly after being reposted on platforms like X, where it has racked up millions of views and sparked widespread outrage.
Adding fuel to the backlash, the person who posted the video admitted the group was drunk and claimed the whale had only recently died. “Wasn’t rotten, just happened and we were drunk lol,” they wrote.
Fishermen blasted for posing with dead whale
Viewers have condemned the behavior as disrespectful and disturbing, with many calling out the men for treating a dead animal as a prop for social media clout. Some users also raised concerns about safety and legality, noting that whales are protected marine mammals and interacting with them can carry serious consequences.
Influencer Amiri King responded to the situation, pointing out that the two may have violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
“They are still protected under the MMPA,” he said. “100,000 fine. Year in jail. Seizure of the boat.”
“Jumping on a dead whale is disgusting. The clout chasing click culture has gone way too far,” someone else remarked.
“This is beyond reckless… did they seriously not know what can happen with decomposing whales?” another chimed in.
Whales have been known to “explode” due to a buildup of gas in the decomposition process, but given that the whale allegedly only died recently, that may not have been a concern.
So far, trinitunafishing01 hasn’t addressed the viral backlash, and it’s unclear if the authorities are investigating.
