Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has sparked outrage on TikTok after he posted a video of himself playfully teasing lambs apparently set for slaughter.
The 55-year-old culinary king has a long history of anti-vegan sentiment and it has been suggested his actions were designed to be deliberately provocative.
In the video, Ramsay climbs onto the animal’s pen and then picks out the lamb for slaughter.
“Yummy, yum, yum, yum, yum,” he said in the clip, before adding: “I’m going to eat you.”
“Which one’s going in the oven first?” he asked, before pointing at the lamb he wanted and proclaiming, “You.”
He then adds: “The lamb sauce was still not found in the making of this video.”
For his part, Ramsay later said that none of the lambs had been hurt for the video.
The footage has since racked up nine million views, with many people livid at Ramsay’s casual reaction to an animal’s death.
“Okay, I am not a vegan or vegetarian but that crosses the line,” one person wrote to social media.
Another added: “What a classless, out-of-touch and heartless way to treat another sentient being.”
“Those are babies. Literal babies,” another said. “This is not normal behaviour … it’s not funny, it’s not entertaining and if you think animals don’t understand us, look how scared they are when he gets in the pen.”
“Don’t play with your food, Gordon,” said another.
Another added: “Alright I think Gordon has finally lost it. Someone do something before it’s too late.”