A mixup over a phone number that was added to a family group chat led to a TikToker playing along and pretending she was part of the family.
Rebecca Mactaggart, who goes by rjmactaggart on TikTok, posted a video that has since amassed nearly 4 million views showing her response to a group text message that was accidentally sent to her.
"When you get added to a random [family's] group text and want to spice things up," the text over the video read.
A few text messages are shown of family members wishing one another a happy Thanksgiving before Mactaggart's message, which read: "So thankful for everyone, the kids are looking terrific."
The TikToker kept up the charade and even shared news of a pregnancy.
"A little bundle of joy will be coming your way in June 2022," she texted the others in the group chat, including a photo of an ultrasound. "Going along with this unfortunately I will be raising brinleigh as a single parent this was a tough decision to make but we've decided it is what is best for the baby's well being. [sic]"
"Imagine your contact name for them is grandma," one viewer wrote.
Another commented: "I just know u were the talk of thanksgiving."
Commenters were eager for an update, which Mactaggart provided.
In her second video, she said about an hour after sending her text, she received a few messages from the chat saying they did not have her number saved. One person, however, congratulated her on the "pregnancy."
Eventually, a family member of the group chat called and left Mactaggart a voicemail.
"Hello, this is Joanna and I am so so sorry," the message said. "I don't know who this is. I just saw the text and realized you aren't in the family."
In her third update, Mactaggart received another text in the group chat from someone who said their daughter just saw and commented on her TikTok.
"She wants to duet it with the rest of the conversation. So funny!" the message read. "Hope you are doing well. Thanks for your good news. Lol."
She clarified that she was not pregnant, and, in an interesting twist to the story, learned she'd met the daughter after they performed in a show together.
TikTok user swagmoneyballer_4 posted her video explaining what happened and confirmed that the two met each other years ago. She said her boyfriend sent her Mactaggart's original video and asked if it was her.
She asked for a screenshot of the family's group chat among the parents and when she read it, she established the video was about her family. The TikToker sent the video to the family, which although they were initially confused, found funny.
"The even funnier thing about it that was in the girl who posted its third reaction video to it was that we actually figured out we knew each other," swagmoneyballer_4 said. "I recognized her and realized we ended up doing a show years and years back together, so that was just an even funnier coincidence about it."
This is not the only text snafu that went viral. Jamal Hinton received a text in 2016 from an unknown number inviting him to Thanksgiving. When he discovered Wanda Dench was behind the message, she welcomed him to dinner. This tradition, Newsweek reported, has continued since their first dinner together.
Newsweek reached out to Rebecca Mactaggart for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Catherine Ferris is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting for the U.S. Trends Team. She ... Read more
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