‘Not a joke to me’: Internet raises tens of thousands for exhausted Red Baron worker who put Instagram prankster in his place

A Red Baron worker who was the subject of an Instagram prank video has received the backing of the internet after he lost his temper and snapped at the pranksters. Since the video went viral, people online have crowdfunded hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the worker.

The video showed the grocery store worker, who has since been identified as Walter E. Zerod, stacking frozen pizzas when he is approached by the prankster who is recording. The person behind the camera is heard asking Zerod, “Do you know what time it is, bro?” When Zerod pulls out his phone to check, the prankster moves his phone close and plays the Apple Pay sound before saying to Zerod, “Thank you, bro, I just took 10 dollars.”

The employee responded negatively to the man’s prank, telling him, “Don’t mess with me right now.” He then asked if he was being recorded before walking away and warning the man that he intended to report him.

Later in the video, the man walked past Zerod as he was talking with staff, saying, “Thank you for the 20 dollars.” The worker then confronted the prankster, who told him, “It was just a joke.” Zerod responded, telling the man recording how he was supposed to be home an hour ago, and that he needed to be up again at 5 a.m. to work, “It’s not a joke to me,” he said.

The internet raises funds for the Red Baron worker

After the clip went viral online, people sided with Zerod and criticized the prankster for trying to humiliate “the exhausted dad” with their content. “I feel so bad for this man. Doing his best for his family and has to be harassed by some punk wannabe influencers,” one X account wrote.

Netizens also wanted to offer financial support to the worker with a GoFundMe set up by Luke Oakenshield shortly afterward. The organizer expressed concern that the worker could lose their job following the video’s viral attention, “Luke wants to help give this employee some breathing room while everything unfolds,” the fundraiser description reads.

As of October 29, the GoFundMe has raised over $250,000 for Zerod, with the highest donation being $30,000. A new goal of $400,000 has since been set. Oakenshield also revealed that he had been in contact with the Red Baron worker in a Reddit post. “He and his family are requesting privacy at this time, and are blown away with what is happening,” Oakenshield wrote in the Reddit post.

“Walt Z out of Michigan sends a heartfelt thankyou, and is absolutely blown away by how much people have cared over this,” Oakenshield said in an update posted to the GoFundMe. He also said that the family has requested privacy and that GoFundMe was “taking the lead” in transferring the funds over to him.