It's Just a Prank

About

“It’s Just a Prank!” is an expression often uttered in prank videos when victims react violently when harassed. The phrase is often referenced online when mocking prank video creators for being abusive, threatening or unethical.

Origin

On May 14th, 2014, YouTuber DennisCeeTV uploaded a video titled “Selling Marijuana in the Hood Prank,” in which he says “it’s just a prank” when a victim pushes him for soliciting his table (shown below). In the next 15 months, the video gathered upwards of 1.1 million views and 650 comments.

Spread

On June 26th, 2014, the /r/ItsAPrank^[1] subreddit was launched for prank videos featuring violent confrontations. On September 2nd, 2014, YouTuber DennisCeeTV uploaded a video titled “Stepping on Jordans in the Hood Prank,” in which the pranksters yell “it’s just a prank” when victims react violently to having their feet stepped on (shown below, left). In the next year, the video reached over 4.2 million views and 9,400 comments. On September 6th, YouTuber le sticky man uploaded a clip of the 9/11 WTC terrorist attacks with several audio samples of the phrase “It’s just a prank” playing in the background (shown below, right).

On September 24th, YouTuber JusReign uploaded a parody video in which he pranks people by murdering them (shown below, left). On October 11th, YouTuber TheNaturalRants uploaded a parody video entitled “Just A Prank: Sleeping with Friend’s Girlfriend” (shown below, right).

On December 27th, the /r/JustAPrank^[3] subreddit was launched for violent prank video submissions. On January 29th, 2015, YouTuber moekazool uploaded a video compilation titled “It’s Just a Prank Bro,” highlighting clips of violent reactions in prank videos (shown below, left). On April 12th, 2015, an Urban Dictionary entry was created for “It’s just a prank bro!”^[4] On May 15th, the YouTube comedy group Alpacalypse Productions uploaded a parody lampooning prank video creators (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External Links