8 Passengers is a YouTube vlogging channel that follows the Franke family. The family consists of parents, Kevin and Ruby Franke, along with their six kids - Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve. The family posted daily vlogs of their lives and gained over a million subscribers. However, the LDS family came under scrutiny in 2020 when they revealed that their son, Chad, slept on the floor for 7 months as a punishment. Additionally, they punished their kindergartner daughter, Eve, for forgetting her lunch by refusing to bring her any food (despite her teachers' requests that Ruby bring her lunch) and making her go hungry all day. The kids also commented about having no friends and not being allowed to do anything all summer long.
The allegations were shocking enough that it sparked a CPS investigation and the 8 Passengers have laid low since, though, they have complained about being cancelled. Of course, they are not outraged or bothered by child abuse as their followers are. They aren't bothered about their kids being lonely or having no friends. Instead, Ruby Franke gets outraged and bent out of shape over TikTok dances.
Ruby is "triggered" by TikTok dances
The saga of Ruby's meltdown began two weeks ago, when she began documenting her "fight" against TikTok dances. Essentially, her 13-year-old daughter, Julie, came home from school and told her mother that her PE class was going to be partaking in a sort of fun, flash mob and would be performing a TikTok dance for the school. Ruby was immediately trigged by the word "TikTok" and began prying about the dance, the song, etc.
Julie admitted that the teacher gave them the option to "twerk" in one of the parts, or to just do something different if they felt uncomfortable. Ruby then demanded the name of the song and went home to research it. While she didn't say what song's name was, she claimed it was "straight-up hardcore porn." Which, of course, doesn't really make sense how mere lyrics to a song can be considered "hardcore porn." Julie attempted to reason with Ruby and explained the girls were only dancing to a single stanza of the song that had nothing explicit or questionable within it. Ruby then claimed that none of the song was appropriate and began a long rant about how the song was lustful, seductive, and that the PE teacher was "selfish" and trying to be "hip" among the girls.
Ruby then went into the school and met with the Assistant Principal, who she then proceeded to humiliate. Like a total Karen she ordered him to write down every single detail of their meeting and demanded 20 times that he follow up with her immediately.
Ruby's complete 'Karen' freak-out over TikTok songs
Part 2 of the fiasco followed shortly after the first intro video and... yikes. The video begins with Ruby storming out of the school, shaking and red-faced. In the car she launches into 12+ minute all-out meltdown - screaming, sobbing, and verbally attacking the school officials she spoke with. During the meeting, the principal calmly explained that she, the principal, had approved the songs that the PE teacher chose. All of the songs chosen are commonly used songs that appear frequently in all kinds of different media. Ruby then attacked her for using what's "popular" instead of using songs that are "in truth" - whatever that is suppose to mean. Again, the principal calmly explained that just because Ruby had different morals, didn't mean she had to ruin the experience for all the other children and the 30+ parents who approved of the songs and were excited for their children's chance to perform.
The principal also promised that she would make any adjustments possible for Julie. If Julie felt uncomfortable, she could find other ways to fulfill her requirement or pull out of the class. However, of course, the problem was never that Julie felt uncomfortable. It was that Ruby was uncomfortable and triggered. She then went on a tirade about how girls aren't allowed to be "seductive" because it's a sin, told the principal she would have to answer to god, called the principal "sick," and then screamed that she wasn't being "heard" and stormed out of the school.
In the car, she began ranting about how the principal was introducing her children "to the world" and that it wasn't "okay." She proceeded to mock the principal's voice, smile, and statements, mimicking here in a horrible and nasty manner. She also repeatedly called the principal "evil" and said that those girls would go home and read the whole lyrics, thus, being "reeled" into evilness. She also ugly-cried about how terrible it was that this horrendous evil was happening in a "quaint, conservative town, where people think they're safe." So, apparently, the greatest danger in her quaint little conservative town is *gasp* TikTok dances. Not school shooters, not sexual assault, not pedophilia, not all of the other terrors that plague schools. Nope, it's TikTok dances. Poor, poor Ruby.
Recap of Ruby's parenting
In a later video, Ruby revealed she had taken the issue all the way up to the school district board. Her husband, Kevin, even gave a speech where he revealed one of the songs in question was Flo Rida's "Low." It's a song that is not even marked E, that is not explicit, and that, even if children did look up the lyrics to, they would not understand. That Ruby would have an all-out meltdown over her 13-year-old child dancing to a single stanza of "Low" must mean she is the most protective, most loving, and amazing parent in the world.
Not really. After all, she did send her 14-year-old son away to Anasazi. Due to some unspecified "behavioral issues," Chad was sent to a wilderness behavioral treatment program. Basically, he was sent away, spent the entire summer apart from his family, wandered aimlessly around the desert in the middle of nowhere, and was surrounded by people that he didn't know. Not only that, but Ruby and Kevin had absolutely no clue whom they were leaving their son with or in what environment. So many horror stories of abuse have arisen from teens who were sent away to these treatment camps. Yet, Ruby had no qualms about dropping her son off in the middle of the desert in the hands of complete strangers. This is the same son that she let sleep on the floor for 7-months, too.
Not only that, but she has documented her children's lives since they were babies. Every single detail about her children from birth to present day, is available publicly online for anyone to view. Anyone - pedophiles, sex traffickers, identity thieves, estranged family members, etc. In fact, her videos are so detailed that many viewers online have figured out her address and the school her children go to. Not only that, but her young daughters all have public social media accounts. Accounts where perverted adult men "like" photographs of them in their swimsuits, or capture snapshots of their feet, or edit them into disgusting sexual photos. Accounts where these men can send any manner of explicit messages that they want to these innocent young girls.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ruby doesn't care at all about her kids' "safety." A girl dancing to "Low" is harmless. A girl exploited by her parents online for her entire life, who has all her private information available in the public domain, who has been given public social media accounts for pedophiles to find, and who is likely to be ostracized and isolated because her deranged mother had a Karen meltdown at her school over TikTok songs - is what is truly damaging and dangerous.
Ruby had a meltdown, because Ruby didn't get what she wants. Ruby believes that her kids should be sheltered and not be "exposed" to any piece of the universe that she hasn't explicitly approved for her children. Not everyone has to agree with what she considers immoral (which is everything) nor does anyone have to agree with cutting their kids off from the rest of the universe because of some crazed fear that they'll turn evil if they listen to Flo Rida.
Not only that, but in the wake of Uvalde, Texas, I hope Ruby feels like a fool. Like a tasteless, selfish, ridiculous fool. Other parents are worried that their children will be shot dead if they go to school. Ruby is wasting school officials' time, sobbing and screaming at the top of her lungs, because her kids might hear TikTok songs if they go to school. I'm sure those parents grieving their children right now, wished they lived in Ruby's little bubble where TikTok songs are the "greatest evil" that their children could ever be exposed to. There is real evil in the world, Ruby, and we stand with parents whose children learned of such evil at an age that they never should have. Nobody gives a single dam that your kid heard a Flo Rida song at school.