ReSet Toothpaste Oreo Controversy

Overview

ReSet Toothpaste Oreo Controversy refers to a video by Barcelona-based YouTuber ReSet, aka Kanghua Ren, in which he replaced the cream from an Oreo cookie with toothpaste, then gave the cookies to a homeless man. Spanish prosecutors later sought a 2-year prison sentence and 30,000 euro fine on Ren for a crime against moral integrity.

Background

In a January 2017 video, Spanish YouTuber ReSet uploaded a prank video where he removed the cream from Oreo cookies and replaced it with toothpaste. He then gave he cookies to a homeless man.^[1] “Maybe I’ve gone a bit far, but look at the positive side: This will help him clean his teeth. I think he hasn’t cleaned them since he became poor,” Kanghua says in the video. He also gave the homeless man a 20 euro bill. The video has since been deleted, but clips of the video have been uploaded to YouTube as a part of explainers on the controversy (What's Trending upload shown below). ReSet has over 1.2 million subscribers.^[2]

Developments

The homeless man, later identified as Gheorge L., became sick and vomited five minutes after eating the cookies and feared for his life. According to court documents, ReSet's video gained over 2,000 euro before it was deleted. ReSet was charged by Spanish authorities after he returned to Gheorge L. with the intention of filming another video in which he spent the night with him, but authorities were called by a witness. Prosecutors claim ReSet offered the homeless man 300 euro to remain silent about the ordeal in an effort to “reestablish his image” and “ingratiate himself with public opinion.” Prosecutors also claim other videos on Ren's channel showed him offering sandwiches filled with his cats' excrement to children and elderly people. Most of the videos on ReSet's channel currently are various "challenge" videos and gaming clips. Prosecutors are seeking a 2-year prison sentence and an order of a 30,000 euro compensation to Gheorge L. The story was covered by The Independent,^[1] The Daily Dot,^[3] and Select All.^[4]

Prison Sentence

On May 31st, 2019, according to the New York Times^[5] the Barcelona court found Kanghua Ren guilty of "violating the integrity of a homeless man" and received a 15-month prison sentence. Ren was also ordered to pay the victim 20,000 euros and to shut down his YouTube and social media accounts for five years. On June 4th, YouTuber InformOverload uploaded a video covering the sentence (shown below). The video gained over 11,000 views in a day.

Search Interest

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External References