The creator of gender reveal parties spoke out after a gender reveal caused a massive fire in California. Jenna Karvunidis expressed outrage and urged people to stop having the reveals.
“Stop it. Stop having these stupid parties,” Karvunidis wrote in a Facebook post. “For the love of God, stop burning things down to tell everyone about your kid’s penis. No one cares but you.”
A “smoke generating pyrotechnic device” sparked the large El Dorado fire, which has burned through more than 7,000 acres. The fire started on the morning of Sept. 5, in the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. The fire spread northward into the Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls communities. Thousands of people have evacuated as the fire has spread in all direction.
Jenna Karvunidis called out the couple for the gender reveal party.
In her post, Karvunidis focused on calling out “toxic masculinity” for the fire.
“It was 116 degrees in Pasadena yesterday and this tool thought it would be smart to light a fire about his kid’s d–k,” she wrote. “Toxic masculinity is men thinking they need to explode something because simply enjoying a baby party is for sissies.”
According to the New York Post, Karvunidis held the first gender reveal party in 2008. The party involved a cake with pink icing, revealing Karvunidis was pregnant with a girl. Since then, reveals have grown more and more extravagant. In 2017, an Arizona man caused a 48,000 wildfire after an explosive bullseye set fire to a national forest.
“Oh, and of course I’m getting hate messages,” Karvunidis wrote. “Excuse me for having a cake for my family in 2008. Just because I’m the gender reveal inventor doesn’t mean I think people should burn down their communities.”
The couple could face jail time for the fire.
The couple behind the gender reveal party could face jail time and may be responsible for paying for the damages. Officials expect the bill for the damages and “suppression costs” to total in the millions of dollars. Authorities could also charge the couple with violating multiple public resources codes and arson. Arson carries a up to nine year sentence.
Firefighters have contained 19 percent of the fire so far, according to ABC.
