A TikTok video showing a young woman crying in her car in a Walmart parking lot has gained more than 15.3 million views. The video was posted by a creator account named Sweet Treats by Ashley, who lives in Nebraska, with the username @sweettreatsbyashley.
In the video, Ashley is seated in the driver’s seat with her seatbelt on, visibly upset. She says, “I never thought I’d have to f—ing make a video like this, and like I’m f—ing crying in a Walmart parking lot for God’s sakes.”
According to her account in the video, another creator known as Cake by Kaity had accused her of stealing a Fruity Pebbles cake pop recipe. Ashley says she began making cake pops only about two weeks earlier and denies copying anyone’s exact recipe.
Creator says she used publicly shared cake mix ratios, and Cake by Kaity has responded
According to Ashley, Cake by Kaity posted a video discussing her own “cake mix ratios,” which she says she used as a starting point. She states in the video, “I never f-ing bought her cookbook. I never, I don’t know her exact recipe.” She adds that Cake by Kaity’s video mentioned keeping “a couple secrets just for me” because her cookbook is copyrighted, which Ashley says means she could not have known the full recipe.
She describes her process as improvisation, saying, “I was like, okay, I have the cake mix ratios for this, it looks really f—ing good, how do I make this into actual cake pop dough? So I used my own shit, and I f—ing just posted it, because it’s what I did.”
@sweettreatsbyashley To the women who hugged me in Walmart you are god sent❤ cause I needed that so bad… literally idolized this women so much fyp
♬ original sound – Sweet Treats by Ashley
She says Cake by Kaity then posted a video about her, which she describes as threatening legal action over an alleged copyright violation. Online food disputes like this one have become increasingly common, with other creators also going viral for their food content.
Addressing Cake by Kaity directly in the video, Ashley says, “Girl, I don’t have your recipe. I never bought your f-ing cookbook. Like, what are you talking about?” She also says she received a message from Cake by Kaity stating, “you’re lying, I’m f—ing suing you, you hear from my lawyer, take the video down,” which she says she complied with by removing her post.
Ashley says the dispute has caused her significant distress, given that she describes cake pop making as a new hobby she pursues outside of a full-time job. She says, “I just do this out of the kindness of my heart. Like, I just started a new hobby. Like, I have a full-time job. I spend all my spare time making cakes pop for people.” She goes on to say, “now a huge creator just bashed me. Like, for what? F—ing cake pops, dude?”
She maintains in the video that she could not have stolen something she never possessed, stating, “I didn’t f-ing steal steal it? I don’t have it. How can I steal something I don’t have?” She lists ingredients she says she used, including “sour cream,” “eggs,” and “water,” which she describes as common knowledge among people who make cake pops. Food-related content shared online does not always go as planned for those involved, as seen when a dessert order went wrong for one Florida woman.
She says she did not anticipate that posting her method would lead to this situation, adding, “I guess this is my f-ing first apology video for f-ing cake pops.” She also says in the video’s closing moments, “Everyone have a great Fourth of July.”
The video’s comments section includes mixed reactions. According to one commenter who says they have written two cookbooks, copyright protections typically apply to a book itself rather than to individual recipes, and this commenter states that “no recipe is original.” Another commenter says they used what they describe as Cake by Kaity’s “tips and techniques” to make marbled cake pops and questioned whether they, too, could face similar accusations.
Other commenters expressed support for Ashley in the video, with one writing, “You have my support queen.” Another commenter claimed Ashley had previously credited Cake by Kaity when asked about her recipe, a claim that prompted a reply from another user calling it unusual to share a recipe and then object to others using it. A separate commenter wrote that they were unaware that recipes could not be copyrighted.
@cake.by.kaity I’m sorry to Ashley, all of my friends here and anyone else I hurt by my actions yesterday.
♬ original sound – Cake by Kaity
Cake by Kaity has since posted her own video on TikTok responding to the situation. In it, she says, “Yesterday I really fucked up and I’m not proud of how I handled the situation.” She says she believed the recipe came from her book because she had been tagged in the post, adding, “I thought it came from my recipe book because I was tagged and I handled the situation poorly.”
She says she was relying on legal advice she had received in the past, stating, “The legal advice I received in the past said this was wrong because I had a copyright on the book.” She says she has since learned that a cookbook is copyrighted as a whole rather than for individual recipes, saying, “But you guys quickly informed me and now I know that that’s not the case.”
Cake by Kaity says she reacted emotionally rather than addressing the situation calmly, stating, “I had a human moment and reacted instead of taking the time to talk out the situation, and I couldn’t be more sorry for that.”
She says she has faced significant online backlash since her original video was posted, claiming she received “death threats, hundreds of wishes that I would end my life, racial slurs against my family, people telling me I should be sterilized, that I should be put down.”
She says she takes responsibility for how she treated the other creator, stating, “I know that Ashley didn’t get the best version of me yesterday.” She also addressed questions about her recipes, saying, “I totally hear you guys, I do use box cake, but I do have over 70 recipes that I want people to make that I made simple for everybody to use.”
Cake by Kaity directly apologized to Ashley in her video, saying, “Ashley, I am so sorry. I wish you the best of luck on your cake pop journey.” She also said she had turned off comments on her page following the backlash, stating she was uncertain of her plans going forward, saying, “I just don’t know, like, when I’m gonna be around or when I’m gonna be back.” She closed her video by repeating her apology, saying, “And Ashley, if you’re watching, I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”
Ashley accepted the apology and shared a follow-up post. She urged people to stop harassing Kaity and wrote, “I’m sure she got the point and will do better in the future.” Ashley also stressed that she wants to move on from the incident.
