TikToker slammed for pranking customers into thinking MrBeast would pay for their shopping

Many online pranks walk a fine line between being funny and mean-spirited, and this one has definitely ruffled some feathers.

Last month, a TikToker came under fire for falsely professing to supermarket shoppers that their groceries were actually free, leaving many initially delighted with the news.

The prankster claimed that, for a period of 15 minutes, YouTube sensation MrBeast would be paying for their shopping - but of course nothing of the sort happened.

TikTok prankster Santi (@santi._s) can be heard making an announcement on the telecom.

"Hello shoppers," Santi said on the tannoy. "YouTuber MrBeast is here and everything is free for the next 15 minutes.

"I repeat, MrBeast is here and everything is free for the next 15 minutes."

But the prank has sparked a mixed reaction online, with some viewers finding the fake tannoy announcement hilarious, and others dubbing it cruel.

TikTok/@santi._s

"Lmaooooo imagine hearing this over the intercom …. I’d load my cart up and be so disappointed," one mildly entertained viewer wrote in the comments.

Another joked: "There’s no way someone actually did this …. This is why i have trust issues."

But other viewers were less than amused by the unnamed TikTok star's supermarket antics.

"This is degenerate behaviour," one viewer hit out.

Another slammed the social media star, writing: "Please just lock all these kids away," before a third agreed: "For once I agree. This is just a civil disturbance at this point."

MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

MrBeast is yet to officially comment on the prank, seemingly being none the wiser that he'd be name-dropped in the supermarket.

The news comes just weeks after the Kansas-born YouTube star expressed fears he'd actually 'go broke' after an online stunt saw him offer to pay a man $10,000 for everyday he'd live in a shop that he himself had bought.

MrBeast later wrote on Twitter: "I messed up.. I bought a random grocery store and told a random person I’d give him $10,000 every day he lives in it and it’s been weeks and he shows no signs of ever leaving. I’m gonna go broke.”

When fans started trying to calculate how much MrBeast owes the guy, he said: "It’s been over a month so far," implying he'd already spent at least $300,000 by mid October.