Kat Stickler (@katstickler) is known for making people laugh uncontrollably on TikTok and Instagram. After all, the influencer got her start at the beginning of the pandemic by making funny videos with her then-husband, Mike Stickler. The two quickly shot to social media stardom as they simultaneously welcomed their daughter MK into the world, and continued to make hilarious videos together until they split in 2021.
Kat has continued to churn out upbeat and relatable content on her own, but she recently hopped on TikTok to share a personal story that’s no laughing matter. According to the influencer mom, her daughter was recently at a birthday party in the park when another child’s mom took a piece of cake away from her in the most uncomfortable and cruel way possible — and now Stickler is one angry mama.
At the start of the clip, Stickler warns viewers that she's about to "mom shame"
In the past, she says the only people she’s ever done this to were herself and her own mom (mostly while joking, of course). But in Stickler’s opinion, another mom deserves to be put on blast for her recent behavior, and she wants to know what others think about what happened.
“Am I entitled, or was this messed up?” Stickler asks at the start of the clip, before explaining how it all went down.
According to mom, she took her 3 1/2-year-old daughter to the park in their neighborhood. When they got there, they were the only ones on the playground, except for a small group of kids who’d gathered for a birthday party.
@katsticklerNo cake for me thanks, I’m full…of rage
Since many of the kids were around MK's age, she started to play with them
The sight of this was pretty heartwarming for Stickler, who watched as her only child ran around the playground with the other kids for about 30 minutes or so.
“It was nice,” she later shared in her now-viral TikTok. “It was actually very cute.”
That is, it was cute — until it came time to sing “Happy Birthday” and things suddenly got very weird.
Stickler says her daughter felt like "one of the group" at this point
So, when she heard it was cake time, the toddler giddily ran over to a nearby table with the other kids, whom Stickler says were “welcoming her with open arms.”
“I see MK, I see her intention of grabbing a piece of cake,” Stickler recalled. “So I walk over to make sure it’s okay as a formality.”
The Florida mom fully expected the other mother to say it was okay and offer her daughter a piece to enjoy. However, it didn’t exactly go that way …
MK was able to get a plate with some cake, but it wasn't in her hands for long
According to Stickler, the mom of the birthday kid intervened, grabbing the plate back from the toddler before squatting down to her level.
Then, as Stickler approached the pair, she could suddenly hear the mother reprimanding her daughter.
“You cannot eat this cake, okay?” the mom allegedly told MK. “This is not your birthday party. These are not your friends. Where’s your mother?”
At the end of the clip, Stickler simply covers her mouth in shock
It’s clear that she still can’t believe what the other mother said, but wants to know if maybe she’s looking at this from the wrong perspective.
Hence, the reason she shared the story in the first place — to get other parents’ opinions on the situation and see if she was unintentionally in the wrong.
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Based on the reactions so far, she definitely has a right to be mad
Hundreds of people told the mom that the whole story was very “sad” and surprising. One person said that their jaw dropped while listening to it, and others called the mom’s comments “cruel” and “messed up.”
“The audacity,” one person snapped.
“WHAT?!?!?!” said another. “WHO SAYS THAT TO A CHILD?!?!?!”
“I can’t believe a parent would treat a child like that regardless!” added someone else. “I’d be super happy to share cake with a new friend my kid has made.”
Adding to the weirdness of it all was the fact that Stickler pointed out the cake was pretty big and there were plenty of leftover pieces once all the party guests got their slice.
… So what gives?
Some people tried to play devil's advocate
A few wondered if the mom’s hesitancy to hand out cake to a kid she didn’t know had to do with worries over allergies or even certain rules about sugar.
But just as quickly as these questions were raised, they were shot down by those who said the mother easily could have asked the child where her mom was to get permission first.
In addition, the whole “food allergy” thing didn’t quite make sense when you consider the mom told MK “these are not your friends.”
Ouch.
So far, Stickler hasn’t posted a Part 2 to the video, or any sort of follow-up explaining how she reacted, what she said (or didn’t say) to the other mom, and if the other mom ever apologized.
In the meantime, though, the story has managed to go viral, with over 9.5 million views and counting. That alone makes you wonder if the mystery park mom has seen it yet too — and if so, does she regret how she handled things?
