Teens three-word joke turns his life upside-down as hes outed as the vicious sea lion fighter
A California teenager says a three-word Instagram comment turned his life upside down after social media users wrongly identified him as the man seen brutally kicking a sea lion in a viral video — sparking death threats, doxxing and a wave of online harassment.Ryland Cuttitta, 18, said he has no connection to the shocking July 22 attack at La Jolla Cove, which remains under investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a possible violation of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.“My name is Ryland Cuttitta, and I was not part of the video.I was not even there or associated with it in any way.
It all came from an Instagram comment,” he told NBC San Diego.The case stems from a disturbing viral clip that showed a young man repeatedly kicking a sea lion resting on a low concrete wall at Point La Jolla before chasing the frightened animal as bystanders laughed.The footage drew widespread outrage online, prompted a federal investigation and condemnation from animal welfare groups, including PETA.But as internet users searched for the suspect’s identity, Cuttitta claimed a sarcastic comment he left beneath a repost of the video was interpreted as a confession.Cuttitta posted the words “clearly self-defense,” intending to mock the attacker.Instead, other users allegedly concluded he was admitting to being the person in the video.His mother Susan Cuttitta said she initially watched the footage without recognizing the person shown.“‘Oh my gosh’, how horrible that there’s this person that’s abusing this animal, that was my gut reaction, and then I moved on to the next story because I didn’t recognize the person,” she told NBC.
That changed when her son called to say strangers online had begun accusing him of carrying out the attack.“I went, ‘What? How are you being associated with it?’ Well, I made a comment, and I think some folks took my comment as me being the person in the video,” she told the outle...