Who Is The 'Canned Pumpkin Guy' And What Did He Do? The Viral TikTok Video Explained

TikTokers are not happy with a user named Nathan Timmel after he posted a now-viral video describing a situation with his wife that's gained him the nickname canned pumpkin guy. But what did Timmel do that was so wrong, and why did it inspire a whole trend where users put their partners through the "canned pumpkin guy test?" Here's what you need to know.

Who Is The 'Canned Pumpkin Guy' On TikTok?

At the end of November, TikToker @ntimmel, aka Nathan Timmel, a self-described author and comedian, posted a video about "what it's like to be married." In the video, he describes a situation he went through with his wife when she asked him to go to the store and get the ingredients for pumpkin bars. The story goes that when Timmel got to the store, he saw that canned pumpkin was not on the list.

Timmel tried to call his wife twice to ask if she forgot to put it on the list or if they already had canned pumpkin, but she didn't respond. Assuming she didn't want him to get canned pumpkin and not wanting the can to sit in the cupboard for a year, he didn't buy it, only to get a call from his wife on the way home. She asked him to go back to the store to get the pumpkin but he refused, angering her in the process.

@ntimmel Daily Snark 11/29/23 Marriage “Nathan,” eagle-eyed subscribers ask, “didn’t I see this video on your page for about five minutes yesterday?” 
Indeed you did!
That’s what I get for trying to schedule things out in advance. Anyway, marriage. The blessed union of two souls who fall truly, deeply, madly in love, and then ten years later (if they’re lucky), can’t stand the sound of one another chewing. We think, “Why am I stuck with this person, when there are endless possibilities out there waiting for me?!” Then we remember, “Oh, right. No one else is even remotely interested in me.” Ha!
I kid, because I love my wife. But seriously, she calls people just to chit-chat. Does it all the time, in fact. When I call, it’s with purpose. I have a reason I’ve picked up my phone and tapped away at those digits. I need information. Hence the kerfuffle right before Thanksgiving. Admittedly, in reality, this was a big nothing. But, I need daily content, and if I can exaggerate things a little to make them (hopefully) slightly amusing, so be it. I told this story on stage this past weekend. Got big laughs on Friday, and middling laughs on Saturday. It’s a little better live, because I’m not constrained (confined) to one minute, so hopefully I’ll have a decent recording of it someday. #marriagehumor #marriage #husbandwife #women #humor #story #relationships ♬ original sound – nathan timmel

How Did TikTokers React To The Canned Pumpkin Guy Video?

The video, which now has over 2 million views, got a lot of viewers angry over the following week. They began sharing the opinion that he should have bought the canned pumpkin despite it not being on the list rather than upsetting his wife over something she, in their opinion, obviously needed to make the pumpkin bars. This resulted in a lot of angry comments and stitches, along with reposts to sites like Reddit and X, where "canned pumpkin guy" was also picked apart.

The most amusing outcome was the trend that the canned pumpkin guy inspired. As the video went viral, TikTokers began filming themselves asking their partner what they would do in the same situation, the hope being that they would buy the canned pumpkin instead of assuming they didn't want it.

@jordanhaase Please tell me i’m not the only one on #canofpumpkin tiktok… #pumpkingate but make it nachos. saw @DoubleChinFreckledSkin so i needed to try #getthepumpkin #parentsafterdark #momanddad ♬ original sound – Jordan Haase

@doublechinfreckledskin #pumpkingate #justgetthepumpkin #dontbeadouche #burnunit #everybodyloveschips #nachos #2gingers ♬ original sound – DoubleChinFreckledSkin

How Did Canned Pumpkin Guy React To The Backlash?

This week, the canned pumpkin guy decided to post a video responding to the canned pumpkin backlash. In his roughly eight-minute-long video, he explains that the story is completely fake and calls out a few specific TikTokers who criticized him for their part in encouraging hateful comments towards him. He claims people were telling him to get divorced, calling him names and leaving hurtful comments on all his videos. Overall, he wants people to know that the scenario was fake and simply meant as a joke.

@ntimmel New Video: Much Ado About Nothing How not odd… TikTok seems to have placed the version of this I uploaded earlier “under review.” So, here it is again. Quite a few people seem to have opinions, and unfortunately they’ve drawn their conclusions without gathering necessary information. Thus, a feeble attempt to offer up reason where none exists. (Ha! Like that’s gonna work!) The video is about cancel culture, mob mentality, and viral videos. If ya got a moment, go give it a gander. Enjoy! #tiktok #information #response #marriage #therapy #censorship ♬ original sound – nathan timmel

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For the full history of the Canned Pumpkin Guy, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.