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Netizens are gleefully dancing about the death of slain teen Austin Metcalf in a sick online trend.
Supporters of 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony — sentenced this month to 35 years for stabbing 17-year-old Metcalf in the heart — dance with knives and pretending to stab themselves as the viral rap song “Austin Bop” plays in the background.
“Austin bop, knife had blood on the tip when he dropped … coughin’ up blood, you think he got ebola,” goes the song, uploaded to Apple Music on June 10 — the day after Anthony was convicted.
“Happy Juneteenth to the METCALF family 🥳” reads the caption on a recent Austin Bop clip in which a woman mimes stabbing herself and gagging.
Other videos play the sinister single over anti-Metcalf memes, like one with a photo of a funeral pavilion and the caption “Austin wanted a tent…he got one.”
The internet has roiled in outrage since Anthony’s first-degree murder conviction, which was handed down a year after the teen athlete stabbed Metcalf in the heart during a fight over a seat under an awning at a track meet in Frisco, Texas.
@infodaily516 “Austin Bop” Trend Sparks Outrage for Mocking Teen’s Death #news#foryou#usa#austinbop#teen♬ original sound – infoDaily516
Metcalf supporters dismissed Anthony as a violent thug, but supporters of Anthony, who is black, said the charge was racist — and even raised $625,000 for his legal fees.
Angry netizens lashed out at both families directly.
Metcalf supporters mailed copies of his obituary to the Anthony home, where he had been staying under house arrest.
Anthony supporters “swatted” Metcalf’s parents three times with bogus with bogus police calls reporting crimes at their home.
Demonstrators on both sides swarmed the courthouse steps during the trial; the “guilty” verdict sparked angry chants, shouting matches, physical altercations, and two arrests — of one Anthony supporter and one Metcalf supporter.
The Anthony family vowed to appeal the conviction, but supporters haven’t let up on the abuse.
Another troll song called “Austin Pack” goes: “We smokin’ that Austin Pack, b—h, I got a knife get back, b—h, give your brother a heart attack, b—-h.”
The savage lyrics are directed at Metcalf’s twin brother Hunter, who held Austin as he bled out.
Several users praised the videos as fair play after similar online trolling against Charlie Kirk and Treyvon Martin.
But some aren’t having it.
“What do you think is behind the mocking and making fun of an innocent person losing their life? Demons,” said instagram user @RobintheMartyr, who is black. “I want no parts of it, and I’m nothing like it.”
English (US)