Overview

The Chicken Jockey Incident refers to a viral controversy surrounding a movie theater audience reaction prank during a screening of A Minecraft Movie in which a teen brought a live chicken during the Chicken Jockey scene. The incident happened in early April 2025, quickly going viral on TikTok and Twitter / X as it led to debate about animal cruelty, the excessive reaction to the scene (which also saw moviegoers throwing popcorn and drinks in the air), as well as comedic content and memes about the moment.

Background

On April 9th, 2025, TikTok^[1] user @chuckomode uploaded a video titled "Bringing a real chicken into the Minecraft Movie." In the video (seen below), the creator hops onto the shoulders of a friend during the Chicken Jockey scene and shows the animal while the audience screams and throws popcorn and other concession items in the air. The post amassed over 649,000 plays and 55,000 likes in a day.

Online Reactions

On April 9th, 2025, TikTok^[2] user @colton_connelly posted a video about the Chicken Jockey incident, telling his POV of the moment TikToker @chuckomode showed the live chicken in the cinema. The video (seen below) amassed over 3 million plays and 480,000 likes in a day.

On the same day, TikTok^[3] user @laurenlundd posted a different POV of the Chicken Jockey incident, amassing more than 5 million plays and 937,000 likes in a day. The video cannot be embedded, but is viewable via the link (screenshot seen below).

The incident also sparked a viral debate about animal cruelty and the lack of respect for the workers who had to clean up the popcorn and other items thrown by the audience, as well as other attendees at the movie, particularly families and children.

For example, on April 9th, 2025, X^[4] user @ThatRabidDog tweeted, "Cheering is fine but throwing shit all over the place and bringing in live animals? Were they all raised in a barn? Where are y'all's manners." The post (seen below) amassed over 148,000 views and 14,000 likes in a day.

Search Interest

External References