It’s quite the head — or foot — scratcher.
A now-viral video of a woman in a maroon, long-sleeve shirt scratching her foot — which appears to be covered with some sort of fungus — with a fork while eating in a public dining area on a Carnival Cruise ship has prompted the cruise line to publicly address the foot-forward faux pas.
In an Instagram post this Wednesday, Carnival put up an Instagram post responding to the video, which was recorded by social media user @lucky_charmedcourt and split into six parts on TikTok and Instagram — the second in which the unidentified woman actually scratches her tootsies with the utensil, which racked up a whopping 6.7 million views on TikTok.
The saga continued with @lucky_charmedcourt reporting the incident to guest services and eventually speaking with the captain about the incident.
The post reads, “Hi Carnival cruisers. We can confirm that forks are intended for food, not foot care. Once we became aware of the situation, our team quickly addressed it with the guest and removed the utensil from service.”
“While the video may be generating laughs and gasps online, cleanliness and hygiene are no joke to us. Our crew works hard every day to maintain high standards across our (feet) fleet and to ensure all guests enjoy a safe, clean, and comfortable vacation.”
While the cruise line appears to have disabled comments on the post, it’s garnered 30.6K likes and has been reposted over 1,000 times.
The Carnival announcement addressed the foot-scratching incident, which rang up 30.6K likes on Instagram. Carnival Cruise
“If y’all ain’t tell security so they can throw that fork away, I hope you end up eating off of it,” posted one grossed-out commenter on the “Part 2” vid post on Instagram.
“I’m bringing my own silverware to restaurants from now on lol,” added another.
“This is why I eat with plastic utensils,” said a third.
It’s not the first time the well-known cruise line has made waves. Carnival recently made headlines due to their bikini crackdown, with guests aboard the Carnival Splendor receiving notice that they must dress conservatively when stepping ashore to Lifou, an island in New Caledonia in the South Pacific.
The unidentified woman had been scratching her foot at the table with her fingers before using a fork to get the job done. @luckycharmedcourt/tiktok
Passengers were told not to wear G-strings, thongs, monokinis and tankinis — along with a strict avoidance of topless sunbathing.
“We kindly ask guests to respect the local culture and rules in the ports we visit,” Carnival states in its dress code guidelines on its website.
The foot-scratching incident is not the first time Carnival Cruises have come under fire. Wollwerth Imagery – stock.adobe.com
It added that Lifou in particular was strict about the no-skin dress code.
“Some destinations, such as Lifou, which is a tribal island, are populated by proud indigenous people whose culture is based on respect, and in many cases are highly religious,” Carnival states.
