TikTok has produced yet another confusing viral phenomenon – the law-breaking trickster.
An 18-year-old TikTokker called Mizzy has been arrested for breaking into a stranger’s home, and the story behind it all is pretty wild.
Here’s everything we know about Mizzy, including if he is going to prison for his actions.
Who is Mizzy
First of all, his real name is Bacari-Bronze O’Garro and he's known on TikTok for posting videos of himself carrying out ‘pranks’ or ‘practical jokes’, examples including him cycling in to a Sainsbury’s store room, jumping into strangers’ cars and stealing a woman’s dog.
As recently as this morning, he filmed himself riding the top of a moving bus and posted it on Twitter.
He previously told The Independent that he started content creation in year eight, after being 'kicked out of school three times'.
'Controversy, even though it’s not good, is the best way to blow up on social media,' he said. 'I always know outrage is going to happen. I know exactly what I’m doing and the consequences of my actions. I tell people not to reciprocate what I’ve done.'
What did Mizzy do to get arrested?
The TikTokker filmed himself entering a house in London’s Hackney without permission, with a frightened woman asking what he was doing. In doing so, he breached a community protection notice issued last May, which stated that he should not trespass on private property.
Unsurprisingly, he was asked by the woman to leave, and the video shows her calling for her partner. Mizzy sits on the sofa briefly and then leaves.
London’s Metropolitan Police released the following statement regarding the incident: ‘The arrest follows an investigation into social media footage which featured a number of incidents, including apparently unsolicited approaches made towards members of the public in the street or on transport, and entering addresses without the apparent permission of the owners.’
When he appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, he apologised for his actions, calling the stunt ‘stupid’.
Mizzy was fined £200 and will also have to pay an £80 surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs.
He was also issued with a two-year criminal behaviour order, which means he can’t upload a video again without the permission of everyone who appears in it. That said, the Daily Mail reports he has since posted a video to a new TikTok account claiming the police will never get him.
What did Mizzy do to get arrested?
Bizarrely, in comparison to his demeanour in court, Mizzy has been pretty nonchalant about his behaviour.
In an interview with Piers Morgan, he explained that 'hate brings money’, as well as views.
‘I went and apologised off social media – I could have recorded that apology and that would have been another viral video, whether it’s hate or whatever.
‘Literally, hate brings money, hate brings likes, hate brings views. It doesn’t matter – love or hate, it still brings views ... It’s not like I prefer to do the hateful stuff, it’s just easier to do the hateful stuff.’
Morgan went on to ask what motivated him to ‘terrorise’ people, to which Mizzy replied: 'I wouldn't really call it terrorising, I'll just call it more having fun.
When he was asked how he was able to get off lightly for what he did, he said that 'UK laws are weak, simple as’, adding that he’s his ’own person' and 'I am legally an adult now so I can do what I want’.
Mizzy also stated to The Independent that people were trying to slander him due to his status as a Black male.
‘I’m a Black male doing these things and that’s why there’s such an uproar on the internet,’ he said.
Will Mizzy carry on doing his ‘pranks’?
Apparently not – early today, he posted that he’s set to quit pranking.
‘It's been a long-time coming but it's something that's necessary to move on with my career, my social media career and how I want to move.
‘You guys have fallen into my trap already - I've planted a seed in your mind. I'm already up there as the UK's biggest prank star...love or hate it, it is what it is.’