Jimmy Kimmel put a pause on the annual Halloween candy prank during the past two years, reasoning that children have had it hard enough during the pandemic. For years, each Halloween the late night host would instruct parents to tell their kids they’d eaten all their Halloween candy and record their reactions. While never fun for the kids, this seemed like imposing unnecessary hardship on already upset little minds during lockdown.
That didn’t stop parents from doing it anyway though, so this year Kimmel “gave up” and kicked off the tradition once more.
As always, there were tears, tantrums, and a lot of big feelings — but fortunately also a few kids who were unperturbed. A savvy child commented that his dad “has done this every single year” while watching a little girl bawl her eyes out.
But even some of the more mature candy-lovers couldn’t hide their hurt. While one teary boy acknowledged that he had been happy to share his bounty with his parents, had also wanted “all of the pieces that didn’t have nuts!”
Nothing says Halloween like a bunch of distressed children who think their parents have betrayed them.
