Parents' Angry Prank Scares Son, Enrages Internet

DAMASCUS, MD — The YouTube video opens with a smiling mother holding a bottle of invisible ink in front of the camera, planning to accuse her son, Cody, of ruining the carpet. Her husband joins in, yelling at the boy, asking him what he did. The Damascus couple repeatedly shout and question their son, blaming him for an ink trail on the floor, while the boy replies, "I swear to God I didn't do that," as he cries.

The parents posted their stunt on YouTube, but internet viewers who watched the clip millions of times have bombarded the post with angry complaints. After the backlash and threats, the clip was taken down. One person wrote, "I hope the parents burn in hell," while another person wrote, "#childabuse."

You can see the controversial YouTube segment on WUSA.

The father, Mike Martin, posts under the YouTube user name DaddyOFive and said Wednesday that all the videos of his family life are fake. His wife, who isn't named, added that they're scripted entertainment, comedy, with some of the bits stemming from their kids' ideas.

Martin labeled the videos as fake and entertainment when posting to YouTube, but that didn't register with viewers. "I never really came out and say we were fake because I was scared to kill the YouTube channel. My kids love the YouTube channel and we love our fans," the dad said in his new message.

His wife apologized for letting fans down and thanked them for support.

The couple said they are under attack by the media and have received death threats since the controversy erupted. "This has gone way to far over FAKE YouTube pranks. We are sorry and we will change our style but you are putting our family in real danger. You are putting the kids that you think you are helping in real danger," the parents wrote in the description of their video message.

On Sunday the couple posted a YouTube video with their kids where the family joked about the prank and the outrage it spawned. It was titled BLOCKING ALL THE HATERS!, and one of the sons said the viewers who denounced the prank clip are jealous haters. Late Monday the video was made private.

"To all you haters, you are the ones that give our children drama," says the mother. "You're the one that caused us problems, you're the one that tried to embarrass us and embarrass them."

As their parents talk to the camera, their five children pipe up with how they have fun, they joke and they tussle over a bowl of candy. Popular music contains worse curse words than the parents used in the F-bomb-laced video of Cody and the stained carpet, the couple says.

On Monday the family issued an apology in a bid to end the controversy: "We deeply apologize for your feelings of concern. We do not condone child abuse in any way, shape or form. We are a loving close-knit family."

The couple posted another video denouncing a detractor's criticism, and said the firestorm it prompted has terrified his children.

»Screenshot of Martin family from YouTube video