Mall plays viral Baby Shark song on loop to annoy homeless people, faces backlash for ‘cruel’ move

A Montreal mall is facing criticism for playing Baby Shark on loop to deter homeless individuals from sitting on its staircases.

A shopping mall in Montreal is facing backlash after using the popular children's song Baby Shark to keep away homeless people from taking shelter in its emergency exit staircases.

The mall has been playing the catchy children's song on their speakers on a loop for a year.(Representational)

The mall has been playing the catchy children's song, which has been viewed and streamed hundreds of millions of times online, on their speakers on a loop and at various speeds to annoy anyone loitering in the area. (Also read: Bengaluru man creates Masterchef-level CV for cook in viral post: 'Next-level appreciation')

What the mall said

Complexe Desjardins, which owns the mall and the office towers in the area, has been playing the music for one year to respond to "security issues" involving people experiencing homelessness, spokesperson Jean-Benoit Turcotti told Canadian media.

However, the company said they are sensitive to homelessness issues and has hired two social workers to "ensure a dialogue" with homeless people. "Our aim is not to coerce, but to support these people," they said.

Advocates suspect that the company grew exasperated with visible homelessness and chose the inhumane method to annoy people into leaving

'Cruel and unusual'

The company says in this time, they have "noticed an improvement" at the mall even as advocates for homeless people calls the move "cruel and unusual."

"It isn't possible to resolve the complexities of homelessness by using juvenile tactics that are conceived to exclude people. You don't solve a problem by displacing a problem," Sam Watts, CEO of Welcome Hall Mission told CBC Canada.

He said that while concerns about homelessness are growing, the “answer isn't to do things that are going to further make people who are vulnerable even more vulnerable.”