The video of TikToker Chels aka contentwithcee cooking live Maryland blue crabs in air fryer has gone viral
A video of a TikTok creator air frying live Maryland blue crabs has stirred major backlash online, with many viewers calling the act inhumane.
The footage of Maryland blue crabs which quickly went viral, left people shocked and angry at how the animals were treated.
Who is TikToker Chels aka contentwithcee as TikTok video of her cooking live Maryland blue crabs in air fryer goes viral
The video of the Maryland blue crabs was posted by TikTok food content creator @contentwithcee who goes by Chels, who showed herself seasoning potatoes and corn directly inside an air fryer pot.
She then seasoned the saucepan, added two live Maryland blue crabs, and put the meal in the air fryer. The crabs’ gradual cessation of movement during cooking was visible thanks to the transparent fryer.
Viewers were appalled shortly after she posted it. After being shared and reposted several times on TikTok, the video was eventually removed.
I've never cooked fresh crabs, but I kill lobsters immediately before cooking with a knife to the head. Quick and painless. I don't like guessing if they can feel pain or not depending on the expert. Cooking crabs in an air fryer with a see-through container is diabolical. Why? pic.twitter.com/vTJ31bCC5Y
— 9mmSMG (@9mm_smg) May 5, 2025
One user, for instance, was particularly horrified and referred to the action as “diabolical.” Others assumed she might not have realized crabs could feel pain, so they gave her the benefit of the doubt.
“Air frying was probably the most painful way to take them out of this world,” one person said. She added that in the culinary world, it’s a “known fact” that they either stun them in the forehead or place them in the freezer to slightly sedate them.
Reactions on the video
She was being a kick out of it 💀 https://t.co/eFDfTV7By2 pic.twitter.com/7e83BYdx5s
— Ichigo Niggasake (@SomaKazima) May 6, 2025
Since then, the video has received hundreds of thousands of views, and discussions over ethics, cooking techniques, and TikTok’s content moderation have been going on in the comments.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources claims that blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus), which are common along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States as well as the Chesapeake Bay, are sentient marine creatures. These crabs live on the bottom, inhabiting places like seagrass beds and mud flats, and they swim with paddle-shaped legs. We contacted a DNR representative in Maryland to inquire about their thoughts on the widely shared video.
The custom is to kill or stun the crab before cooking, even though blue crabs are a beloved treat that is frequently steamed with Old Bay and served with melted butter and corn on the cob. In addition to being generally deemed inhumane, boiling or air-frying them alive may also be regarded as animal cruelty in some jurisdictions.