The internet reacts to 'sickening' video of millionaire dad who hired strippers for son's 12th birthday

Elise Solé
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images

A shocking video of a 12–year-old celebrating his birthday with two strippers while his father laughs and cheers him on is going viral.

The identities of the people in the video are unknown, and it’s not clear whether the man in the footage is actually the boy’s father. But according to the Spanish news website La Vanguardia, the boy’s father is an “eccentric millionaire” who hired the strippers so his son could have a “sensual experience.”

In the disturbing clip, the shirtless boy appears uncomfortable, looking away at times, while sandwiched between the lingerie-clad women. In the background, the man laughs and directs the action, while onlookers film with their cellphones and throw dollar bills at them.

Many people on social media were horrified.

And according to a Nigerian website, someone asked, “Would it be the same reaction if it were a 12-year-old girl with male strippers?”

“Psychologically and developmentally, there’s a shift around age 12, when a child’s gaze turns from his parents as role models to his peers,” Sharon Silver, creator of Proactive Parenting, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “This video suggests what the boy has learned about sex so far from his father.”

First and most importantly, the boy is a minor, so depending on where the video was shot (reportedly in the United States), the father could face a number of charges.

For example, in 2013, a New York mother was charged with misdemeanor child endangement for hiring strippers to perform lap dances for her son at his 16th birthday party. Ultimately, the mom, Judy H. Viger, 34, accepted a plea deal which required her to perform 50 hours of community service to avoid a one-year jail sentence.

And in 2001, parents of a high school senior in New York City hired a stripper to attend their son’s birthday party at their home, where police found her naked and performing a “lewd” act, according to the New York Times. Parents Robert and Rochelle Wien were charged with child endangerment and unlawfully dealing with a child, reported the New York Post.

Experts say there’s a serious psychological cost to this type of “fun.” Says Silver, “It appears the child is being indoctrinated into a world where women are subservient to men. It’s a disservice to the child because, in the future, he’ll have to re-learn about his sexuality and partnerships.”

Bottom line, says Silver: “Where are Social Services?”

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