(NEXSTAR) – The Wiggles, a children’s musical group famous for songs about fruit salad and dancing like a plane propeller, have issued a statement in response to their unauthorized appearance in a TikTok video promoting a song that references MDMA.
The video, which was shared to TikTok by Australian musician Keli Holiday, had used a clip from last month’s TikTok Awards in Sydney, where Anthony Field (the Blue Wiggle) and Dominic Field (who portrays a Wiggles character known as the Tree of Wisdom) appeared on stage with Holiday during a performance of Holiday’s song “Dancing2.”
The TikTok clip, however, did not use the original audio from their performance of “Dancing2,” but rather another Holiday song called “Ecstasy,” which features the lyrics, “Hey girl, come and dance with me/You and your pocket full of ecstasy.”
In a statement shared with The West Australian, a spokesperson for The Wiggles said the group wanted to address concerns from “many parents and professionals” after the video was posted.
“The Wiggles do not support or condone the use of drugs in any form,” reads a statement attributed to the group. “The content being shared was not created or approved by us, and we have asked for it to be removed.”
Holiday is still a “friend of The Wiggles,” according to the statement, but “the video and the music added to it were created independently and without our knowledge.”
“Our performance at the TikTok Awards was family-friendly and fun, and this video was edited together separately and without our awareness.”
The video appears to have been removed from Holiday’s TikTok account, The Guardian reported. Another video, taken directly from the TikTok Awards and showing the Tree of Life character dancing to “Dancing2” alongside Holiday, remains on his page.
The Wiggles/Keli Holiday incident wasn’t the only controversy to emerge from Nov. 26’s TikTok Awards in Australia. After the show, several attendees came forward with accusations of racism at a pre-show event, some of whom claimed they were shuffled off the red carpet before having their photos taken, Variety Australia reported.
In response, TikTok Australia issued a statement blaming a change of venue and bad weather conditions for moving the red carpet portion indoors, which halved the “space available” for that portion of the event.
TikTok Australia also issued an apology for “guests who had a negative experience.”
“We sincerely apologize to anyone who felt excluded or uncomfortable at this year’s TikTok Awards,” the statement read, in part.