“Mocking people in need for some views” — TikToker Deeny Wrld leaves fans divided by recreating Squid Game 2 Bread vs. lottery scene in real life

In the wake of Squid Game 2's release on December 26, 2024, a controversial trend emerged among social media influencers attempting to recreate scenes from the series. One such instance involves TikToker Deeny Wrld (@deenywrld), who recently reenacted the show's "Bread vs. Lottery" scene, sparking widespread debate online.

In the inaugural episode of season 2, titled Bread and Lottery, the enigmatic Salesman (portrayed by Gong Yoo) approached homeless people, offering them a choice between bread and a lottery ticket. Enticed by the possibility of acquiring a fortune, each person chose to purchase a lottery ticket despite being starved.

The Salesman then crushed the bread by stomping on them, criticizing them for choosing uncertain fortune over sustenance. This scene served as a poignant commentary on human nature and societal values.

Following Squid Game 2's release, TikToker Deeny Wrld produced a video replicating the "Bread vs. Lottery" scenario. In the Instagram video, which amassed over 22.7 million views, Deeny Wrld approached real homeless people, presenting them with the same choice between bread and a lottery ticket.

The reenactment closely mirrored the Squid Game 2's scene, including him destroying the bread by stomping on it.

The video garnered a mixed response online. Netizens argued that Deeny Wrld's reenactment was insensitive, accusing the influencer of using vulnerable individuals for entertainment and social media engagement. One netizen commented under his Instagram post and wrote:

"Mocking people in need for some views"

A fan reacted to Deeny World's post. (Image via Instagram/@ deenywrld and @walterr333_)

Netizens shared their thoughts that such actions trivialized the real struggles of homelessness and poverty, reducing social issues to mere content for views and likes.

"Scrolling IG reels when I saw someone recreate the squid game “bread & lottery” scene irl (wherein the recruiter gave homeless ppl an option of bread OR a lottery ticket) and it’s just awful. how can anyone side with the very clear enemy in that show i don’t understand it." one netizen wrote.

"squid games really shows how stupid humans really are… you saw 91 people get shot in front of you and still chose to gamble for the money?? the bread vs lottery ticket analogy was very evident of how humans would rather gamble for uncertainty, than go with guaranteed chances," another fan noted.

"I’m glad haven’t come across any of those videos. I hate content created like that especially if they show their faces. Everyone trying to go viral or to be an influencer , trying to get the views makes me sick." one other netizen added.

Conversely, some viewers suggested that the video served as a reminder of how Squid Game 2 aimed to create awareness about the choices faced by those in desperate situations.

"Well, yeah. Any decent person understands that offering that choice to a truly desperate person doesn't prove ANYTHING about the desperate individual. Squid Game and its fandom has consistently failed to not idealize cutthroat capitalists." one netizen expressed.

"Yeah that’s horrible. Squid game is a show, to copy that only shows how right In-ho is lol," another netizen wrote.

"They should really just imagine themself in that situation, how they would feel if a stranger shoved cameras in their faces as content while others laugh at them online," one other fan added.

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The "Bread vs. Lottery" scene from Squid Game 2 comparisons to previous similar incidents by influencers

TikToker Deeny Wrld's video is reminiscent of a similar incident involving influencer Shin Taeil (@shintaeil12), who also recreated the Squid Game 2 episode 1 lottery scene with homeless individuals. Shin Taeil's video faced backlash, with many calling the act as dehumanizing.

Meanwhile, series creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk elucidated the significance of this scene in an interview with Radio Times on December 26, 2024. He explained that it reflected the psychological manipulation inherent in the games and critiqued societal tendencies to prioritize elusive opportunities over addressing immediate needs.

Hwang Dong-hyuk further explained Gong Yoo's character as the Salesman who had experienced "a difficult, tough, rock-bottom life" and said:

"I believe that Gong Yoo's character [the Salesman] is someone who lived a difficult, tough, rock-bottom life, just as much as those that are depicted as the homeless people in the series."

Hwang Dong-hyuk elaborated that by presenting this moral dilemma, the scene from Squid Game 2 underscored the desperation and hope that usually drive individuals to take irrational risks.

He added that the scene from Squid Game 2 episode 1 also showed the Salesman's (played by Gong Yoo) hatred towards greedy and poor people.

"And he is someone who is so filled with self-hatred, it is expressed in the hatred he harbours for other humans. And by hating these people, he believes that he is different from them. [He is] showing and expressing his hatred for the people who choose lottery tickets instead of bread, almost as if he's trying to escape his own self-loathing nature."

The trend of reenacting Squid Game 2 scenes in real life, particularly those involving vulnerable populations, sparked broader discussions about the impact of media on behavior and the ethical considerations of content creation.

While the series itself served as a critique of societal issues, the mimicry of this Bread vs. Lottery scene in real-world contexts led to debates about the line between art and exploitation.

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Squid Game 2 has 7 episodes and is available on Netflix for global streaming.