Popular TikTok creator Josh Richards went live on Instagram with fellow internet star Griffin Johnson on April 27 when the former suddenly pulled down his pants, flashing his entire audience in real time.
The eighteen-year-old TikTokker appeared to follow the format of a popular video trend, where a user will drop their phone and fly into view to sit on the camera — usually with their derriere exposed.
However, Richard ultimately ended up showing much more than his backside, which caused such a stir that his name began trending on Twitter.
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Richards spoke out regarding the incident in a series of Tweets shortly thereafter, writing, “Stop, it’s over,” and, “Yo, kinda legendary tho.”
Considering the relatively young age of his online audience, the TikTok star received ample backlash for showing his richard to the world, with many criticizing him over the matter via social media.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_hrDufH141/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
His joking tone soon changed in wake of the criticism, with the star publishing a lengthy apology via Twitter the next morning.
“I want to apologize about what happened yesterday during the live,” he wrote. “I have a responsibility because of followers I’ve been blessed with. Last night, I took advantage of that. I’m going to try to think harder before I act.”
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The star went on to clarify that it was “never his intention” to “leak what got shown,” and claimed that he “made a promise” to “change who I am,” going on to explain that he will “think about what I’ve done and learn from it.”
— Josh (@JoshRichards) April 28, 2020
Thus far, it seems that Richard’s apology has been met with mixed reactions, with some critics still upset that he’d shown such sensitive material to an underage audience.
“I love you alright, but dude wtf?” one user replied. “You have a young audience, some of us know how to deal with what we saw but those young people DON’T.”
i love you alright but dude wtf? you have a young audience, some of us know how to deal w what we saw but those young people DONT. you can’t say you won’t let social media change you cause it WILL, you’ll have to filter what u post and not be “crazy” all the time
— laurex (@lostwnoah) April 28, 2020
“How tf do u pull your pants down on accident?” another challenged.
How tf do u pull your pants down on accident?
— freak u (@tiktokleakd) April 28, 2020
In spite of the criticism, some fans are expressing sympathy for Richards in wake of a controversial clip that has since gone viral across the net in a way he did not intend.
The TikTokker has not been suspended by Instagram at the time of writing.