Groom sparks backlash for embarrassing his bride on their wedding day: ‘Help me’

A groom has sparked backlash for making what many thought was an inappropriate joke during his wedding ceremony.

On 3 October, TikTok’s self-proclaimed life coach, Shawnda (@lifecoachshawn), asked her thousands of followers whether they thought the soon-to-be husband’s joke, which took place as he was reading his vows, was hurtful or harmful.

In footage from the ceremony, Douglas, the groom, could be seen standing at the altar across from his bride. When directed to read his vows, he pulled a piece of white paper from his jacket. The moment went from sentimental to sour when Douglas straightened his sheet to reveal the words “HELP ME!” bolded across the back.

“You are the love of my life and the most beautiful,” the groom began, intentionally acting as if the exchange wasn’t interrupted by his joke.

His wife-to-be caught a glimpse of the message on the paper, and her smile disappeared. Her jaw dropped and her eyebrows furrowed before she swung her bouquet at Douglas’s shoulder.

“I’m kidding. It’s a joke,” Douglas proclaimed, turning to see how visibly upset his bride was.

Shawnda paused the footage to add her opinion about the moment. “What is it about a man, who is at the altar with the woman that he has proposed, right before he promises to love, honor, and cherish her, that makes him want to humiliate that woman?” the creator questioned.

“If he’s not wrestling that woman down to the ground for the ol’ cake smashing, if he’s not disrespecting her in the vows, he’s got some kind of prank or some kind of joke, some kind of way he has to humiliate this person for making him stand up and marry him,” she continued.

Though viewers couldn’t catch a glimpse of every guest seated for the awkward exchange, the audio proved the groom, and the woman recording, were the only ones laughing at his joke.

“It’s no time for jokes, a ‘Help Me!’ sign? Like she’s holding you hostage? It wasn’t even worth it, the juice wasn’t even worth the squeeze, you humiliated this woman for what? So that the one girl holding the camera could get a little laugh?” Shawnda noted.

“I have no respect for the kind of man that takes that day, that opportunity to get themself a cheap laugh, because that crowd was dry,” she added.

Over 6,000 TikTok users weighed in, with a vast amount agreeing with Shawnda’s comments.

One commenter received 5,751 likes for their remark. “Whyyyy do these people beg for a girl to go out with them, cry if she tries to leave, propose to her, spend a tons of money on a wedding then do this,” they wrote.

“No because I would’ve walked out,” someone else noted, while another said: “The officiant’s face says it all. As a man, he just looks so disappointed and embarrassed and worried for the woman.”

“I feel like the camerawoman was in on it, that laugh sounds too forced,” a viewer commented.

“She definitely was,” Shawnda agreed.

One frustrated viewer added: “She most likely spent months planning every second of that day, and the only thing he put any effort into was *THAT*”.

The Independent has contacted Shawnda for comment.