There's no doubt that people will do just about anything to make it big on the internet. But there's normal anything and then there's Florida anything, which is living proof that videotaped pranks can run afoul of the law when they involve giving random people wedgies.
This is Charles Ross, a scruffy-looking 18-year-old Floridian seemingly intent upon starting his very own Jackass-esque YouTube channel. Ross Creations is his very own forum for pranks which include such sophomoric hilarity as getting into strangers' cars, pretending to be blind while dragging bloated roadkill on a leash, and, of course, giving people wedgies.
Let's be honest, Jackass pranks were pretty terrible, but the guys who pulled them did so with a mellow SoCal finesse that was strangely enticing. They managed to subvert people's sense of propriety and make the inappropriate funny. Ross has no such charm, and his videos — although they've snagged more than 5 million views — are cringe-worthy at best. Not to mention that giving someone a wedgie can be — and in Ross' case was — considered a crime.
Ross gave a 20-year-old man a wedgie and the guy, unsurprisingly, called the cops and pressed charges. After spending a short time in the Manatee County, Fla. jail, Ross posted his $750 bond and awaits trial for a misdemeanor battery count. Maybe his next video will feature Ross getting his ass kicked by a high school football player. That seems like a more fitting response to the idiotic high school locker room stunts he's staged in the past.
At any rate, this dude's videos could get a lot more views if he keeps doing the getting into strangers' cars bit. Florida has been a "take your gun to work" state since 2008, and all that that implies ...
(Hat tip to Supersport and farmerengineer4life!)