A TikTok user is receiving online backlash for pranking the cast of Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes at the movie’s premiere.
Easton Simpson deliberately mumbled his words while interviewing the film’s lead actors Owen Teague and Freya Allan, making it difficult for them to understand and answer.
The repeated mumbled questions led to Teague eventually realising he was set up and walking away, and caused Allen to joke that the prank was “evil”.
When speaking to Teague, Simpson started asking: “Acting in this movie, it’s a little different because you’re not playing a human. Was there any part during the filming,” before mumbling the rest of the sentence.
Teague asked for the question to be clarified several times to no avail, before resorting to making ape noises into the microphone and walking away.
The Witcher’s Allan apologised to Simpson as she asked him to repeat his question multiple times, leaned in closer, and turned to her publicist for help, before realising it was a setup.
@es.imps Mumbling to the cast of #KingdomOfThePlanetOfTheApes 😂 @20th Century Studios movie out May 10th #mumble #hollywood #redcarpet
@es.imps Mumbling to Freya Allan before the #KingdomOfThePlanetOfTheApes movie premiere 😂😭 @20th Century Studios #mumble #hollywood #redcarpet
“That was goddamn evil, I’m not gonna forgive you for that,” she said. “I’m anxious enough as it is. That’s not allowed. I’m never saying hello to you again!”
According to The Independent, some social media users have criticised Simpson for the interviews, with one person writing: “This is so irritating. There are people who take this seriously and would be honoured to interview people like him but instead, this guy gets the job and makes it a mockery and doesn’t take it seriously at all.”
Another wrote: “Horrible, disrespectful. Good journalists from all over the world would do anything for this experience.”
Simpson’s fans showed their support for Teague’s reaction in the comments of the videos, with one user writing: “That was THE BEST way to respond to that. Once he knew you were messing he just returned the energy”.
Another wrote: “The marketing worked, I’m going to see it,” to which Simpson replied: “Let me know how it is”.