'Sad' teddy bear confiscated by TSA was really just a YouTube prank

Instagram photo went viral

(TSA/Instagram via CNN)

LOS ANGELES – No, the Transportation Security Administration didn't ruin a child's Christmas, at least not by confiscating an oversized teddy bear.

TSA posted a photo to its Instagram on Thursday with a 9-foot teddy bear slumped over looking sad and abandoned next to an airport trash can at Los Angeles International Airport. The TSA used the homeless bear as a teaching example for holiday travelers. 

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"It's a good idea to check with your airline prior to traveling with overly large items as cary-ons (sic)," TSA officials wrote in the Instagram caption. "If you see this wayward bear strolling the streets of LA, please feel free to feed him."

Stories started popping up on news sites across the web with some presuming the bear was confiscated from a child.

While the admittedly sad-looking does manage to draw sympathy in the comments section, it turns out its back story isn't as dismal as the Internet originally thought.

The TSA updated its Instagram caption and posted to its blog to let followers know a popular YouTuber brought the super-sized stuffed animal to the airport so he could film the incident and post it to his channel.

"Even though I didn’t mention a child in the Instagram post, some quickly assumed it was a child’s bear and imagined a heartbroken child having to leave its friend behind for the holidays," the TSA social media manager wrote in a blog post. "This was not the case. It belonged to a grown man."

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That "grown man" is YouTuber Jake Paul who posted his attempt to bring the bear on board the plane Dec. 8. The video has since been viewed more than 500,000 times.

The 12-minute video begins with Paul telling airport officials that the teddy, named Brodie, is a gift for his girlfriend. He shows them that he has a separate ticket for Brodie and they let him through the initial layer of security.

"There's a 50 percent chance that we lose him, I'm kind of nervous to be real," Paul said. "If and when Brodie makes it through security, I'm going to have the comfiest airplane partner."

Problems began to arise when Paul and Brodie made it to the TSA checkpoint. Long story short, Paul made it onto the plane but his fuzzy traveling companion did not.

The TSA said that even though the bear had a ticket, it was too large to be taken into the cabin of the aircraft. Officials offered to refund the ticket and have Brodie checked as luggage, but Paul declined.

"Brodie, I loved you bro, but all good things come to an end at some point," Paul said. "He went out like a champion."

Even though the TSA realizes the whole incident was part of an elaborate prank, it stands behind its original message: make sure you're prepared and know the rules before you travel.  

 


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