LEWIS Saunderson is a controversial TikTok content creator.
The Influencer is known for his "awareness" videos, which some people have called "disturbing".
Who is TikTok star Lewis Saunderson?
Lewis Saunderson was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire in 1984, and is an actor and TikTok star.
He trained at the East 15 Acting School, and made his film debut in The Lost Choices (2014).
However, these days Lewis is better known for his controversial videos on TikTok.
His handle @lewissaunderson38 has 1M followers (as of September 2023).
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What type of videos does Lewis Saunderson create on TikTok?
Lewis creates what he calls "awareness" videos that show challenging situations and even include "death".
One harrowing video shows him reenacting the moment his "son drowns in a paddling pool".
He claims he recreates these tragic scenes to highlight the importance of safety – for example not leaving a child alone in a paddling pool.
Lewis does include the hashtag "fiction" on his clips, but some followers have felt the captions don't always make it clear that the videos aren't real.
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What has Lewis Saunderson said about his videos?
Many of Lewis' videos have caused a stir and left followers feeling confused and angry with they turned out to be fake.
He responded to the backlash in a TikTok video, where he said that hetook people's belief of his clips as a "compliment", and that he was "always having to set the record straight and clear up any confusion".
Addressing his followers he said: "When another video goes viral I have to do this justifying again."
"The majority of people will just scroll their page, my videos will pop up and a lot of people assume they're real.
"It's annoying because I'm never trying to make out that I'm going through these things.
"At the end of the day people will believe what they will believe."
Lewis said there's a "divide" between people who understand he's trying to raise awareness and people who "can't understand" why he does it.
He then argued he's "just an actor playing a character and telling a story".
"It's nothing different to when you watch a drama on TV," he said.
"What I'm doing is harmless in terms of using a platform to demonstrate my skills and tell powerful stories. That's what my brand is… If I was trying to convince people it's real I wouldn't be putting out explanation videos regularly after videos do really well."
What have people said about Lewis Saunderson's videos?
As a result of their realistic nature, many viewers have responded to Lewis' videos with messages of support – especially when they believed his son had drowned.
One person wrote: "I'm sorry for you man, stay strong and be safe,"
While another said: "This broke my heart so much. Losing your baby is so hard. I lost my son last year. Prayers."
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However, upon finding out the videos aren't real, and that they had been fooled, some viewers have been left furious with one writing: "I feel so played.
"I prayed so hard for you because I thought I really lost your soulmate."
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