A video of a TikTok creator air frying live Maryland blue crabs has stirred major backlash online, with many viewers calling the act inhumane.
The footage, which quickly went viral, left people shocked—and angry—at how the animals were treated.
Who was behind the video?
The video was posted by food content creator @contentwithcee, who showed herself seasoning potatoes and corn directly inside an air fryer pot.
Then, she added two live Maryland blue crabs into the same pot, seasoned them, and placed the dish into the air fryer. The transparent fryer made it possible to watch as the crabs slowly stopped moving while cooking.
Quickly after her posting it, viewers were horrified. The video has since been deleted, but not before it was stitched and reposted multiple times across TikTok.
For example, one user was especially appalled, calling the move “diabolical.” Others gave her the benefit of the doubt, suggesting she might not have known crabs can feel pain.
“Air frying was probably the most painful way to take them out of this world,” one person said. She added that in the culinary world, it’s a “known fact” that they either stun them in the forehead or place them in the freezer to slightly sedate them.
Now, people are flooding her other videos
Even after she deleted the original post, people have continued to leave comments on her TikTok account.
“I don’t think she realizes how sentient crabs are. That’s why she’s not making any more like that,” one viewer wrote. “People make mistakes. Think crayfish boils.”
Another person added, “Crabs have nervous systems, they are sentient and experience emotion, think about what you diddddddd.”
A third suggested a more humane approach to cooking animals. “Let’s not cook living creatures alive anymore okay?” they wrote.
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