Note to self: People are really sensitive about the whole suicide bomber thing, so perhaps a prank might not be a good idea.
A video production crew in Saudi Arabia is being blasted for their controversial prank featuring a taxi driver pretending to be strapped in and ready to die.
The footage sees passengers tricked into believing he is about to carry out an attack. Hilarious, right? How could that possibly go wrong?
The man playing a taxi driver picked up unsuspecting passengers in a car fitted with hidden cameras. He then lifted his shirt to reveal what looked like a suicide bomb vest, telling the passengers to, “look forward to going with me to heaven”.
One teenage passenger started to cry as he tried to stop the man detonating the vest and another jumped from the moving car.
Two older men managed to restrain the driver and bring the taxi to a stop, before the driver revealed the prank and removed his fake beard.
Producers say the video was made to raise awareness of the dangers of extremist ideas. Originally uploaded to the Saudi Youtube channel Tube Up, it has since been taken down.
Saudi Arabians are calling for the production company to be punished, in a country known for its harsh methods of law enforcement.