THE parents accused of tattooing their one-year-old baby for a sick TikTok contest have broken their silence over the twisted video.
They claim they never expected people to become so angry over the disturbing footage and say the boy was only screaming as he was tired.
A horrifying video released online showed the infant weeping as his parents appeared to use a tattoo machine to ink the word “Mellstroy-Game” on his tiny arm.
The Sun has chosen not to publish the clip due to its distressing nature.
Outrage quickly grew online with hundreds of people blasting the Russian parents for their depraved actions.
A day later, they admitted the stunt was fake and the boy wasn’t actually tattooed.
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Instead, they claimed it was done to try and win a free flat from 26-year-old “trash streamer” Mellstroy, real name Andrey Burim.
He had promised to give away apartments worth just over £45,500 to TikTok creators who made the most outrageous promotional videos for his casino-linked project.
Speaking for the first time since being globally shamed, the mum of the boy said the tattoo was actually just done using a pen, reports Izvestia.
She explained: “We didn’t tattoo the child. We pretended to do it.”
She went on to suggest that the outraged viewers should never have expected such a twisted act to actually be genuine.
“I didn’t think people would believe it, because it was a one-year-old, not 18 or 20,” she said.
“Adults can handle the pain, but a child couldn’t, especially since their skin is soft.
“The inscription was written with a black gel pen. We didn’t use a tattoo machine, and we removed the needles from the cartridge.”
Since the fury over the video, streamer Mellstroy has come out publicly to announce he won’t accept any video submissions involving children.
He condemned the parents in a statement which reads: “I would like to ask you not to use young children in the challenge, as it looks ridiculous, to say the least, and is absolutely morally wrong.”
Mellstroy, who boasts 7.6million followers across social media, is facing backlash of his own for the competition.
Russian internet watchdog Ekaterina Mizulina, head of the Safe Internet League, has called for an urgent criminal investigation into the footage.
She said: “The bottom has been reached.
“A family tattooed their one-year-old child to participate in a competition advertising a casino.
“The tattoo may not be real, but the baby is crying throughout the entire video.
“We will forward the materials to the Investigative Committee.”
She blasted the Moscow influencer, adding: “The scammer Mellstroy launched a hooligan contest to advertise the online casino he created.
“Contestants can do whatever they want on camera, as long as their video becomes a TikTok trend, the only requirement is to include a link to the casino in the video.”
Mizulina warned the so-called contest is driving desperate people to dangerous extremes.
She said: “Thousands of teenagers — and even adults — across the country have been damaging and tearing up passports, shaving their heads, damaging property, and even setting themselves on fire.
“It’s only going to get worse — the videos are becoming more brutal and absurd with each passing day. All because of the large prizes the scammer promised.”
Known as a Kremlin moral guardian, Mizulina demanded prosecutors act, saying: “What’s the point of the Russian Criminal Code if it doesn’t work at all?
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“And who will be held accountable for involving children in antisocial acts and the consequences for their lives and health?”
Authorities have yet to confirm if a criminal probe has been launched.
