Vannesia Crayton
The TTC has filled a complaint with Toronto police after a controversial music video appeared on Instagram and YouTube talking about violently harming city transit workers.
The video, created by a Toronto-based 6sixreacts, was filmed recently on the subway and at various stations in the city.
After the video made headlines, 6sixreacts responded on social media by saying his work was an “innocent” video for joking purposes only.
But the TTC says there is nothing funny about harming the lives of its workers.
A spokesman for the Toronto Transit Commission says the agency complained about the rap video, saying it “threatens extreme violence against TTC employees.”
In the video 6sixreacts makes movements imitating gunshots and makes references TTC fare collectors while saying “two-shots to your dome” and “I’ll shoot you in your chin.”
TTC Executive Director of Corporate and Customer Communications Brad Ross in a Tweet denounced “the threat of violence stated in the lyrics and the mimicked actions of discharging a firearm.”
— Brad Ross (@bradTTC) May 25, 2018
Ross says the people in the video did not get permission to film on the TTC’s property, and if they had looked into getting permission, access would have been denied.
On Twitter, Ross noted that “at least once a day TTC employees are assaulted or threatened for simply doing their jobs. The courts and police take these matters very seriously, as does the TTC.”
6ixreacts’s Instagram page has over 7,380 followers, and the account includes mostly comedic videos meant to get a reaction from people.
Octavia Dumas, a 24-year old fashion marketing student who just moved to Toronto , told Humber News on Facebook on Wednesday that she finds the video disturbing.
” Having moved to a new city and depending heavily on the TTC to get everywhere, this is scary and frustrating to see because you never know when someone can act upon the video,” she said.
“How are people like this be getting away with potential action like this. Where was security during the filming on the platforms?” said Dumas