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The mother of a teenager who berated one of the country’s top scientists in a TikTok clip has taken away his PlayStation as punishment.
In images that have been widely shared on the app, the 15-year-old approaches Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, while in a London market, calling him a “big man.”
As the epidemiologist puts on a mask, the teenager pushes the camera in his face and says “you’re a liar.”
When the video went viral yesterday, it drew strong criticism, including from Stockton South Conservative MP Matt Vickers, who described the teen’s actions as “egregious.”
Now the mother of the TikTok video creator, who is still in school, has urged him to record a video of apology to Professor Whitty.
(Image: COPYRIGHT UNKNOWN)
His mother told MailOnline: “I was horrified when I saw how rude my son was to Mr. Whitty.
“This is not how I have raised him and it is not the behavior I expect of him.
“I have taken his PlayStation, which is what he loves the most.”
But the teenager, who lives with his parents and his little brother in a municipal flat in London, has not been punished by his mother because “he is already suffering enough.”
She said the confinement meant that he, like many teenagers, was struggling due to lack of socialization.
The mother claimed that her son wanted to draw Professor Whitty’s attention to the “overlooked” suffering of adolescents.
In the video, Whitty calmly looks past the teenager, who goads him on and accuses him of “lying about Covid-19 cases.”
And he adds: “Stop lying to TV, man.”
At one point, the teasing boy points the camera at his face before calling Professor Whitty a ‘liar’ again.
(Image: COPYRIGHT UNKNOWN)
After the confrontation unfolded at Westminster’s Strutton Ground market, the teen uploaded the images to TikTok.
When asked about the incident at the Downing Street press conference last night, Professor Whitty didn’t seem overly concerned.
“The weird young boy showing off occasionally happens,” he said.
“Frankly, I didn’t think anything about it. I was very surprised that the media took it as something of importance.”
(Image: PA)
About the young man behind the video, Professor Whitty said: “I am sure he will become a model citizen in due course, hopefully more like Captain Tom, who is the type of person that I think exemplifies the spirit of the Kingdom. United”.
When asked if he was concerned that there are still people who refuse to accept the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic, Professor Whitty added: “There will always be a noisy group of people who will disagree with practically anything.
“Actually, there is little evidence from a lot of background opinion. The vast majority of people fully understand the issues.”
The prime minister’s official spokesman offered his support to the scientific advisor.
“Chris Whitty is an outstanding public servant who has worked incredibly hard and tirelessly to help us get through what has been a very, very challenging time over the past year,” the spokesperson said.
“And it is clearly unacceptable for someone who has done so much to be subjected to this type of behavior.”
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