Human Interest TikToker Fakes His Death, Then Shows Up at His Funeral to Teach His Family a ‘Life Lesson’ David Baerten came up with the idea after becoming disheartened with how much his family had "grown apart" By Anna Lazarus Caplan Anna Lazarus Caplan Anna Lazarus Caplan is a writer-reporter for PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work previously appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, Eater and other publications. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 15, 2023 12:59PM EDT A Belgian TikToker faked his own death and then turned up at his own funeral to teach his family a “life lesson” about the importance of staying in touch. David Baerten, known as Ragnar le Fou on social media, came up with the idea after becoming disheartened with how his family had fractured, according to The Times U.K. “What I see in my family often hurts me,” he said, per the newspaper. “I never get invited to anything. Nobody sees me. We all grew apart. I felt unappreciated. That’s why I wanted to give them a life lesson, and show them that you shouldn’t wait until someone is dead to meet up with them.” Teen Who Suffered Concussion in TikTok 'Skullbreaker Challenge' Now Works to Make Social Media Safer In order to pull off the prank, the TikToker, 45, got some help from his wife and children. “Rest in peace Daddy. I will never stop thinking about you,” one of his daughters wrote on TikTok before the service. “Why is life so unfair? Why you? You were going to be a grandfather, and you still had your whole life ahead of you. I love you! We love you! We will never forget you.” Brandon Bell/Getty The TikToker, who has more than 165,000 followers, then made a grand appearance at the ceremony in a helicopter. “Cheers to you all, welcome to my funeral,” he said in a video, per The Times. The True Story of 'Bama Rush': How TikTok Became Obsessed with Alabama Sorority Recruitment Baerten hugged some relatives, while others seemed confused, and he seemingly responded to pushback about his stunt, saying “only half of my family came to the funeral.” “That proves who really cares about me,” he said, according to the newspaper. “Those who didn’t come, did contact me to meet up. So in a way I did win.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Opinions on the prank were mixed in the comments section. One viewer called it a “pathetic stunt” as another joked that they thought Succession would end in a similar manner. Meanwhile, others sympathized with the man. "It’s sad that some family members only see you after you’re dead,” wrote one commenter, while another wrote, “I know how he feels.”