As more and more influencers feed their appetite to go viral, where does one draw the line?
This was the discussion triggered on social media after TikToker Kiley Skeff shared a video of herself entering a deceased person’s apartment, with no invitation whatsoever.
“The desperation to go viral is really warping a lot of people’s brains,” one commented on her video.
As more and more influencers feed their appetite to go viral, where does one draw the line?
Image credits: thisisnotok94
Netizens found it baffling after Kiley Skeff thought it was a great idea to allegedly break into a deceased person’s apartment and share footage of her unauthorized actions online.
“Exploring an apartment that’s been untouched for years…” read the title on the video, which went viral online.
Image credits: thisisnotok94
The New York resident said she and her friends simply pushed open the apartment’s door and decided to rummage through the deceased occupant’s belongings.
“I live in New York City. I went over to my friend’s apartment last night. Her neighbor died about two years ago,” she told her viewers.
“And the apartment has not been cleaned out yet,” she continued. “So we decided to push open the door last night.”
Netizens found Kiley’s actions “disrespectful” and accused her of possibly “documenting a crime”
Image credits: thisisnotok94
Social media users found Kiley’s actions “disrespectful” and accused her of possibly “documenting a crime.”
“This is WIIIILLDDD!! So disrespectful,” one said, while another agreed, “It’s actually concerning her lack of respect.”
“So she’s documenting a crime?” questioned one.
“This is so illegal and painful for the family, imagine scrolling past this, and it’s your recently deceased grandfather’s whole world she’s rummaging through for a TikTok,” another said.
One wrote, “Hope they’re sued by this poor woman’s family. What the actual f***. Disgusting fr**ks.”
“The way they’re treating it like it’s a fun little field trip is gross. It genuinely makes me so sad,” read one comment online
Image credits: Sergey Mart/Pexels (not an actual photo)
“Right?! Like this was someone’s entire life, and all that’s left of it. It’s really Erie and inappropriate. I couldn’t be friends with people who had this idea of fun.”
“Imagine that’s like your de*d son or brother or friend’s place and you left it untouched so you can visit from time to time,” another said. “Then these two f***ing bozos let themselves in and loot it for a TikTok. ‘So I live in New York Cityyy’ Lmao.”
Another said, “It seems many Gen Zers seem to view only peers as human beings. Everyone else is there to play a role in their self-absorbed life story.”
Image credits: yu zhou/Pexels (not an actual photo)
Beyond the ethical outrage, it is unclear whether Kiley’s actions were actually illegal.
It is unclear exactly whose apartment it was, whether she had permission to enter, who owned the belongings, and what she took.
If she entered the residence without permission from the rightful person in control of the property (such as the deceased person’s family, the landlord, or another authorized party), it could potentially raise trespassing concerns.
It is unclear whether Kiley’s actions were actually illegal
Image credits: Mizuno K/Pexels (not an actual photo)
Coming to the question of the deceased individual’s personal belongings, their items generally do not become ‘free to take’ simply because they have passed away.
Their property typically becomes part of their estate and is handled by heirs, executors, or administrators.
It is also unclear whether Kiley and her friends actually took away items from the residence or simply went through them with or without permission.
Image credits: Tom Fisk/Pexels (not an actual photo)
However, from the looks of the video and from her caption, ‘Ummm is this illegal,’” one might assume that she did not have permission to enter.
Nevertheless, the backlash from the incident was enough to force Kiley to scrub her social media presence.
She deleted her TikTok and Instagram pages in light of the controversy.
“That’s f***ing weird and sacrilegious,” one commented on Kiley’s video. “What the f*** is wrong with those people”
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