A YouTube star dropped a huge amount of money to organize the "biggest gender reveal ever", and while some fans were in awe of the spectacle, others online critiqued the spectacle as "nauseating" and over-the-top.
Gender reveal parties have been getting something of a bad press of late, not least due to a California incident that sparked colossal wildfires and has led to people in the area being evacuated from their homes.
The El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino County confirmed that the fire was started by a "smoke generating pyrotechnic device" used during a gender reveal party, Cal Fire said in a news release posted to Instagram.
"Law Enforcement has determined the El Dorado Fire, burning near Oak Glen in San Bernardino County, was caused by a smoke generating pyrotechnic device, used during a gender reveal party. The fire began at 10:23 am on September 5, 2020 in the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. The fire spread from the park to the north on to Yucaipa Ridge that separates Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls from the City of Yucaipa." The statement reads.
However, Anas Marwah, a Syrian-Canadian YouTuber who boasts more than 7.5 million followers, per news.com.au, didn't let the recent bad press surrounding gender reveal parties stop him from throwing an incredibly extravagant stunt to reveal the gender of his baby.
The influencer, who resides in Dubai with his family, decided to light up the monumental Burj Khalifa with the color of their impending child. The Burj Khalifa, of course, being the tallest building in the world.
A video of the reveal shows the building flashing between blue and pink before finally settling on blue, along with the message "It's a boy" projected onto the side of the building.
This 15 minute video shows the stunt being carried out:Many comments praised the beautiful spectacle, yet not everyone was so impressed by the lavish reveal.
"More on the nauseating ridiculousness of gender reveals, I give you this 350,000 Dhms ~ 100K USD gender reveal in Dubai. I am ashamed for them, but it seems they have no shame. I pity the children..." Wrote one Twitter user.
Another commenter wrote, "The whole gender reveal trend is stupid and I feel like such a special moment must be private and sentimental. Fight me."
"I agree. However, this is all a publicity stunt. 1. Its ranked the biggest gender reveal ever made till now. 2. The money he paid, he’ll get them back easily through the views, shares, and controversy it all created. So I’m pretty sure they couldn’t care less," another Twitter user replied.
Meanwhile, the woman who is accredited to launching the 'Gender Reveal' craze has spoken out and called for the parties to come to an end.
Writing on Facebook on Monday, Jenna Karvunidis referenced the fire and party directly, saying:
Related - This certainly isn't the first gender-reveal party to end in disaster"Oh my god NO.
"The fire that evacuated parts of California is from a GENDER REVEAL PARTY.
"Stop it. Stop having these stupid parties. For the love of God, stop burning things down to tell everyone about your kid's penis. No one cares but you.
"It was 116 degrees in Pasadena yesterday and this tool thought it would be smart to light a fire about his kid's dick. Toxic masculinity is men thinking they need to explode something because simply enjoying a baby party is for sissies.
"Oh, and of course I'm getting hate messages. Excuse me for having a cake for my family in 2008. Just because I'm the gEnDeR rEvEaL iNVeNtoR doesn't mean I think people should burn down their communities.
"STOP."
Per CNN, Karvunidis kicked off the now-popular tradition when she through a gender reveal party for her own unborn daughter back in 2008.
