A Canadian shopping mall in Montreal is under fire for playing the ultra-popular YouTube song ‘Baby Shark’ on repeat to prevent homeless people from loitering in stairwells.
The Complexe Desjardins in Montreal, Quebec, hometown of Twitch star xQc, has found a way to keep its emergency exit stairwells clear, but some view the method as “cruel and unusual.”
According to Global News, the downtown mall began playing the Baby Shark theme on a loop at varying speeds to keep homeless people from hanging out in the building’s stairways.
The mall is located in close proximity to the Old Brewery Mission, a support organization for the homeless.
Montreal mall’s Baby Shark loop called “cruel and unusual”
“About a year ago, music was installed on some of the fire escapes in the Complexe Desjardins because we were having problems in these areas,” mall spokesman Jean-Benoît Turcotti said. “Since the installation of this sound solution, we have noticed an improvement in the situation.”
Baby Shark has been effective and the mall has no plans to cease playing the song, which has over 15B views on YouTube.
Turcotti says that despite the constant sound of “doo, doo, doo doo” the mall actually supports the homeless, noting that its owners donated $1.2 million for homelessness in the city in 2023.
“Our goal is not to coerce these people, but to support them. That’s why we have two social workers working at the Complexe Desjardins to ensure a dialogue with these people,” he added.
Sam Watts, CEO of Welcome Hall Mission, an org that offers services to the homeless, slammed repeating of the children’s tune as “cruel and unusual.”
The Complexe Desjardins isn’t the first location to play children’s songs on repeat to deal with the homeless. In 2019, West Palm Beach decided to blast both Baby Shark and Raining Tacos in an attempt to get the homeless to leave.
It’s not clear if the constant playing of the song has contributed to its record as the most-viewed YouTube video of all time.