Social media personality and influencer Kate Heintzelman, who previously made waves for her unusual culinary exploits, is yet again controversial. In her recent Easter special video, she demonstrated a rather unusual but resourceful approach to coloring Easter eggs—by using her toilet. The video went quickly viral on social media platforms. Viewers mobbed it with comments, and most of them were on the thumbs down.
In the video, Heintzelman dumped several eggs into her toilet bowl, where she then dyed them. She captioned the post with a tongue-in-cheek remark: “when it’s your turn to make Thanksgiving dinner, but you don’t know what you’re doing….don’t freak out germs are killed at 140 degrees.” This eye-catching claim was meant to be pretty funny, but missed the mark shocking her audience, not reassuring them.
Heintzelman’s decision to pick Frederick so as his headquarters was not without critics. The dark shadow toilet bowl in the background looked dirty though that didn’t escape the eyes of astute viewers. And boy, did people let them know in the comments. One user quipped, “This is the reason I don’t eat at potlucks,” highlighting the discomfort surrounding the unconventional preparation method. Another commenter remarked, “I showed this to my therapist and now he’s in therapy,” underscoring the bewilderment and alarm generated by her antics.
This isn’t the first time that Heintzelman has been blasted — or burned — for her culinary decisions. Earlier this year, she made headlines for cooking a full-size Thanksgiving turkey in that very toilet. That video, too, received a largely negative response, with the majority of commenters criticizing her for poor hygiene.
In her first foray into egg-dyeing this year, Heintzelman gingerly moved her creations with a bright yellow rubber glove. She subsequently returned all of the colorful eggs to their original cartons. The accompanying video uses Justin Timberlake’s 2006 #1 smash “What Goes Around… Comes Around.” It’s a great way to have fun, get creative, and decorate your holiday season in an eco-friendly way! The execution left many viewers unsettled.
The backlash did not go unnoticed by brands. The official Eggo account responded to Heintzelman’s video with a cheeky comment: “Now Kate…,” indicating both recognition and skepticism towards her methods.
Her criticizer, Heintzelman, has some backlash and a flood of return-fire on her comments page. Despite this, she fearlessly presses on to connect with her constituents through social media on the handle @KateWillTryAnything. She delights in cooking’s radical edge, routinely generating both guffaws and indignant outrage. This youthful exuberance ironizes the double-edged sword of our current influencer culture.