YouTuber faces sharp criticism over sneezing prank with homeless man

A controversial video of a YouTube personality Luke Erwin has drawn sharp criticism which showed him doing a sneezing prank with a homeless man.

The social media star having 378,000 followers on YouTube sparked backlash online and forced to remove the cruel prank video in which he targeted a homeless man.

Luke Erwin is seen walking towards a shirtless man armed with a green spray bottle in the since-deleted video. After getting closer, he sprays the man across his bareback while pretending to sneeze on him.

The prankster continues the gag by clutching at his nose, hiding the spray bottle with his other hand when the man turned around.

While the homeless man appeared unaware of the nature of the prank, viewers were quick to accuse Erwin of being ‘tone-deaf’ and exploiting a vulnerable person for cheap laughs.

According to 7 News, a person wrote, “Imagine sitting around with your group of friends thinking how you need new content and thinking of this bright idea to go out into the public and pick on the less fortunate.”

‘You have just proven that you have a complete lack of empathy towards other human beings.’

After facing sharp criticism, the video has been taken down from social media along with the personality’s Instagram account.

The Queensland-based social media personality had previously posted a similar video in which he pretends to sneeze on multiple people to capture their reactions, reported 7 News.

Luke Erwin had earlier uploaded a string of controversial videos to social media as in 2019, he along with his older brother Joel, filmed himself using an air horn to frighten unsuspecting pedestrians in Sydney, Dailymail UK reported.

Later, the pair were charged with assault over the incident after one of their victims went to the police complaining of a damaged eardrum.