Did you see the heartwarming video of that Arizona influencer who found and rescued a tiny tortoise? Poor thing had allegedly been tossed in a pet store’s dumpster, left to die inside a plastic tub! Well, Dan the Turtle Man of TikTok claims she staged the whole thing, and he has the receipts for proof.
The accusation has caused this little tortoise to go viral for a second time in one week. Since being called out, the original rescue has been taken down. In internet-speak, that’s about as good as an admission.
Tortoise Lover Pokes Holes in Arizona Rescue Story
In the rescue video, Jamie Simpson, who goes by @embracingecho on Instagram, showed herself rummaging through a dumpster behind an Arizona pet store. By her account, she was looking for discarded pet supplies. She noticed a closed tub with breathing holes. Upon grabbing the tub, it was revealed that a baby tortoise was alive inside.
This rescue was the biggest upload to date from Simpson, who usually does disability advocacy and lifestyle content. In a follow-up video, she even claimed she was pursuing legal action against the pet store because tortoises are a protected species in Arizona. That’s when Dan, who goes by @Dantheturtleman on TikTok, stepped forward.
Dan posts facts and care needs for turtles and tortoises and has collected over half a million followers on TikTok. The Turtle Man claims that Simpson staged the rescue, and he can prove it. He starts by questioning why Simpson deleted the name of the accused pet store.
In Simpson’s follow-up video, she claims the store is really close to her house, and she didn’t want people to know where she lived. Dan refutes this reasoning because her Arizona city is no secret to her viewers. He claims her original disclosure is how he contacted the accused pet store.
Dan says the pet store sent him a text exchange between them and Simpson. In the exchange, we see Simpson saying she never blamed the pet store. She elaborates that she’s never had problems with anyone in that pet store, and that she didn’t think they were even capable of such horrible abuse.
The pet store urged her to correct her errors publicly because they are getting review-bombed. They also positively identified the abandoned animal as a leopard tortoise and said their two were accounted for. More importantly, they don’t mark their tortoises like the one that appears in the rescue– but they knew who did.
So Dan contacts the breeder who, get this, sold a hybrid leopard tortoise to a Jaimie Simpson, just last week! Busted? Well, when confronted, Simpson deflects once again, saying that it could have been a different Jaimie Simpson and pushes that “Jaimie” is a “Hispanic man’s name“.
Undeterred, Dan goes on to explain that the decked-out luxury enclosure they apparently had on hand for this unexpected rescue is too large for the baby’s age and size. The video ends with Dan loudly exclaiming, “I can’t believe I have to say this, but don’t put a baby tortoise in a dumpster for clout”.
Simpson has since deleted the entire saga. While such an act isn’t a direct admission of guilt, in internet culture, it’s the same as paying out a settlement but not admitting any wrongdoing.
Users Across Social Media Outraged by Fake Rescue
Some viewers admitted falling for the ruse, but most posted what inconsistencies they noticed. “My thing was she recorded yourself [sic] pulling this tortoise out of the dumpster and then she just walks away. She didn’t bother to check to see if there were any more!? I would have been IN the dumpster throwing everything out,” said one commenter.
Meanwhile, others were furious at how the rescue falsely accused the pet store. “I hope the store sues her,” said one. Another quipped, “she’s getting sued for sure, she’s the next door dash [sic] girl.” “Doordash girl” is a reference to the viral female DoorDash driver who misrepresented her deactivation and has been sued for misconduct.
Others offered commentary on social media’s rescue genre, saying, “the amount of ppl [sic] that do this is scary, I always worry about trusting rescue vids.” Ultimately, however, “she deleted the video,” and that’s one less lie circulating the internet today!
