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The daughter of a couple filmed without their consent by a TikTok influencer has criticized the way her parents were shamed in a viral clip that has already been viewed by millions.
Two Sundays ago, the elderly couple took an evening stroll in Sydney, with the woman carrying a shopping bag and the man carrying a cane.
Suddenly, a towering six-foot-tall man stepped forward to ask if they could help him open a water bottle he was holding in his left hand, while his right arm was in a sling.
The pair walked by with barely a glance and the caption on the clip read, “Don’t be the person who doesn’t help.”
The man, whose name is Luke Erwin, then turned to the camera, appearing hurt and surprised that the pair hadn’t even stopped for a moment.
An elderly couple was asked by a 203cm man towering over them to help him open a water bottle by pretending his arm was broken, after which the video was posted online, where it has been viewed millions of times
The social media post provoked insults about the pair under the video, but there was more to the story than a few seconds could reveal.
For starters, the man’s arm wasn’t actually broken, it was just a prop for his alleged “kindness video.”
SBS journalist Amal Awad revealed on Wednesday evening that the elderly couple are her parents.
Commentators poured their hearts out on the Awads, with comments such as ‘Those first people are just plain hateful!!!’ and ‘If humans can’t even help themselves to crack open a bottle of water, then humanity is doing very badly.’
“But my parents are not dismissive and spiteful,” their daughter wrote on SBS website.
Awad’s book, Fridays with My Folks, is about how her father’s diagnosis of kidney failure affected their entire family.
‘My mother, who is in her 70s, has assisted him during his dialysis treatments. When they were filmed they had a quiet day out,” she wrote on Wednesday.
‘My mother says she saw two men approaching (the other was filming), their intentions were not clear. She didn’t notice that the man’s arm was in a sling.
“They were saddened by the video and the reaction that came from it.”
Awad said she had been unable to determine whether the man’s arm was actually broken, but Daily Mail Australia tracked down Erwin and asked that question.
Luke Erwin’s video (pictured) of him saying an elderly couple refused to help him has gone viral
“No, it’s a social experiment, so yeah, (it’s) just a prop,” he admitted.
When asked what gives him the right to harass people while feigning an injury, Erwin said he was “just trying to make people aware of the fact that…if someone is in need, they should probably stop and help.”
“It’s a social experiment. So I get hundreds to thousands (comments) a day saying, “Thank you, Luke, for giving money to the homeless. It just reminded me the next time I go buy some alcohol or go to KFC to get that extra big chips or something, I’d rather give the money to the homeless,” he said.
“I inspired someone to do that, so it’s not a bad thing.”
Erwin then went on the defensive when reporting his alleged injury.
“I don’t know why no one is reporting that I gave away $7,000 out of pocket, and you’re all worried I have a fake broken arm,” he said.
SBS journalist Amal Awad (pictured) is the daughter of the elderly couple filmed by Luke Erwin
Daily Mail Australia pointed out that the vast majority of people who give money to the homeless don’t feel the need to film themselves.
“So if I get 13 million views on that and inspire 13,000 people with that video, I don’t see… you haven’t inspired anyone,” he said.
“I’m not trying to make (appear) a good person of myself. I’m trying to inspire other people and make them remember to give back to those in need.”
Erwin said people giving money to the homeless without filming and posting it online doesn’t inspire anyone to do the same.
“When I did it, I inspired 13,000 people who sent me to do that.”
He denied that he pokes fun at people who don’t deserve it.
After Erwin (pictured left) filmed the Awads, he approached another person (pictured right) to ask for help opening the bottle of water
“You’re trying to turn the whole story around. I wasn’t kidding.
‘It’s people I ask if they can help me and it’s their choice whether they pass by or not.
“A lot of people stop and help and a lot of people don’t.
“So I’m trying to inspire people to remember to stop and help those in need… I’m just trying to get my message out.”
Awad said her parents “who mind their own business should be entitled to their privacy.”
Amal Awad (pictured) has advised people: ‘Next time you come across one of these videos, please remind yourself that you don’t know the people in it’
“Buskers need permission to sing in public spaces, but anyone with a cell phone can ‘perform’ without permission and force a stranger to be part of their ‘content’ without permission,” she said.
Not all of the comments on Erwin’s video were rude about Awad’s parents. Some stood up for them.
“I don’t think it’s right to shame people for not helping. You don’t know what they’re going through,” one person commented.
Awad said, ‘Next time you come across one of these videos, please remind yourself that you don’t know the people in it.
“You can’t see their personal history, their invisible problems, and why they do or don’t do something.
“Whatever you do, please don’t like, share, or subscribe to it.”