Relax, there's a reason why Chris Hemsworth pulled that 'cruel' prank on son
Everyone seems to be missing the point... and it has something to do with wife Elsa Pataky.
Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky have been slammed for a "violent" and "cruel" prank they pulled on their son's birthday.
The power couple parents posted a photo of it to Instagram saying that it was a family tradition.
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"Only way to eat cake"
Posting to his Instagram account on Tuesday, Hemsworth shared a snap of Pataky pushing their son's head into his birthday cake as the rest of the family watched on.
He captioned the post, which now has 1.4 million likes, "Happy ninth birthday to my two little men! Only one way to eat cake in this house and that’s to have mum slam your head into it face first!!
"'Hey mum, I don’t like chocolate cake I prefer vanilla', 'Oh really son, what about now?'"
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"I think it's ridiculous"
But fans took issue with the way Pataky was allegedly "shoving" her son's face into the cake.
"Why people smash their kid’s face in the cake is above my understanding but whatever," one critic slammed.
That comment has 170 likes, with many people replying in agreeance.
"Agreed. I think it's ridiculous," someone added.
"Who wants cake all over their face... didn't think so, so why would your kid? It's so wasteful. You're just going to throw away after the stupid, not funny prank?" another wrote.
A different person chimed in, "If my mum did that to me I would pick it up and throw it at her."
The real reason they pulled the 'prank'
But other people called out the critics for overreacting.
"Violent? You're acting like the cake icing is hardened mud," one person pointed out.
"Don't be a snowflake, they're not harming him in any way, it's a bit of fun," another said.
And many commenters also pointed out that it's a tradition in Spanish and Latino culture, so that might explain why Pataky, who's Spanish, took part in the prank.
One person wrote: "Latina mom 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼"
"We do this in Mexico all the time lol," another person mentioned.
"You clearly haven’t been to a Hispanic birthday party yet 😅 #tradition 🙌🏽" a different user wrote.
"It's not a 'prank' in Hispanic countries, it's just common practice," someone else commented.
After a bit of digging, we found out that the 'cake smash' is indeed a popular tradition in Spanish culture.
It's so commonplace that usually people make a separate, smaller cake that's created for the sole purpose of 'cake smashing', while the real cake is eaten afterwards.
In Mexico, the tradition is called 'la mordida' which translates to 'bite' in Spanish. It's typically how the birthday boy or girl takes the first bite of their cake.
Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek also made headlines in recent years when Angelina Jolie smashed her face into a birthday cake.
Hayek explained on The Kelly Clarkson Show at the time, "When the cake comes you make a wish, you blow the candle and then you take a bite of the cake and then somebody behind you whacks you in the head and puts your face inside of the cake. It's very normal in Mexico."
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Originally published as Relax, there's a reason why Chris Hemsworth pulled that 'cruel' prank on son
