TikTok Star Fakes His Death and Then Surprises Everyone By Crashing His Own Funeral

This TikTok star is taking a social media prank to the next level.

The 45-year-old David Baerten from Belgium says that he wanted to teach his family a lesson by faking his own death. With the help of his immediate family, he tricked his extended family members into believing that he died.

He told a French TV show, “Touche Pas a Mon Poste” that he didn’t tell his children right away. His daughter wrote on social media, “Rest in peace, Daddy. I will never stop thinking about you,” one daughter wrote, reportedly believing he was dead. “Why is life so unfair? Why you? You were going to be a grandfather, and you still had your whole life ahead of you. I love you! We love you! We will never forget you.”

Baerten said that his film crew wouldn’t participate in recording the prank unless he told his children and sister the truth about the social experiment. He wanted to teach his family a lesson after he felt like he wasn’t being included in extended family social events.

@el.tiktokeur2 Tu nous as eu on t aime mon ami on est content que tu es parmis nous ❤️❤️#pourtoii #fyp #fypシ @Ragnar_le_fou ♬ son original – Thomas faut

He told “The Times UK,” “I never get invited to anything. Nobody sees me. We all grew apart. I felt unappreciated.” Adding, “That’s why I wanted to give them a life lesson and show them that you shouldn’t wait until someone is dead to meet up with them.”

Once people arrived for the funeral service, he arrived by helicopter to the shock of all the attendees.

“Cheers to you all,” he told the crowd. “Welcome to my funeral.”

Even though he faced intense backlash online from commenters on TikTok, many of the people gave him hugs and were emotional to see him alive and well.

@el.tiktokeur2 Tu nous a eu je te le jure j etais en pleure moi et apres j ai eu le choc poto on t aime beaucoup ❤️@Ragnar_le_fou @Leclercq Philippe #fyp #pourtoii #fypシ ♬ son original – Thomas faut

He did have a bit of regret following the brand and told “Touche Pas a Mon Poste,” “As soon as I started receiving messages from people and videos of them crying, I wished I could cancel the whole thing, but it was too late,” he said. “I asked myself, ‘[Why] have you done this?’ but it was too late.”

David shared an apology about the stunt telling, “7 News Australia,” “I owe every one of you a huge apology,” he said. “I’ve [made] family members … do incomprehensible thinks like lying. I lost a lot of friends and family that meant a lot to me.”