Photo Courtesy of Tra Alexander/ TikTok
A newly-married interracial Tennessee couple went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Early last month, Tra Alexander and his bride, Markenzie, were dragged online after footage of their wedding dance went viral on TikTok. As Tra and his wife entered the reception hall, the deejay played George Clinton’s 1982 hit single “Atomic Dog.”
The couple was married on April 2, according to Markenzie’s Facebook page. They got engaged last April.
Once the interracial couple heard the tune, Tra fell to his knees and allowed his white wife to walk him around on a leash in front of mixed company. As wedding guests danced and applauded arhythmically, the goofy groom crawled on the floor, sniffed his master (no pun intended) and even imitated a dog urinating on a fire hydrant.
@tenneggee Alexander Wedding Reception #viralvideo #foryou #atomicdog #walkthedog #xyzbca #fypシ #fyp #wedding #reception ♬ Atomic Dog World Tour Remix – George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic & Anderson .Paak & Mary J. Blige
TikTok users responded disgustingly to the video, which has garnered over half of a million views.
One person wrote, “I can’t believe they think it’s ok.”
“All I can see is that scene in Roots when Kunta Kinta with the kids riding his back at the Christmas party with horse bridle in his mouth,” another user wrote.
One woman asked, “What in the new TLC TV show coming soon is this? 🤔 🤦🏾♀️throw the whole wedding away!!!”
“What [a] way to start the marriage 🤦🏾♀️Good luck, master.”
Tra justified the problematic display by saying the coonish antics were born from tradition. He explained that his father began the family custom of dancing like a canine when “Atomic Dog” is played.
“The song itself means something to me and my family.[My dad] made his own dance for it [a] long time ago. And ever since, it’s been passed down to my oldest sister and then me.”
He added, “This is [my] family song, you know, full of gratitude and heritage. So I don’t… I don’t really care about the comments. They don’t know me. But I really do appreciate them letting me go viral.”
The Gallatin, Tennessee, resident further expounded that the dog walk was also a joke because Markenzie had been after him for six years to tie the knot.
In a second video on Tra’s TikTok, his explanation of the dumb-ass dance proved to be true. His older sister, whose name was not given, joined her brother on the floor as the song continued playing. The caption on the video read, “Bro & Sis.”
A Black man, who could’ve been the father, seemingly hyped the dim-witted duo up as they frolicked around on the floor. His white wife looked confused as the viewers watching the almost 40-second video.
@tenneggee Alexander Wedding pt.2 @trizzytra615 #ScreamItOut #wedding #reception #fyp #ByeByeSundayBlues #fypシ #xyzbca #atomicdog #viralvideo #dance #Gallatin ♬ original sound – Tenneggee
Anyway, good luck with that.