Lia Parker said she has been targeted by cruel trolls.
A woman has sparked a huge debate on social media after claiming in a TikTok video that she likes to sleep in a dog kennel. Speaking to needtoknow.co.uk, Lia Parker said she views the kennel as a "safe space" from environmental triggers. Her videos have amassed thousands of views with users debating how safe it is to actually sleep in a crate. Ms Parker has 12,000 followers on TikTok where she keeps sharing clips of her controversial set up to sleep.
"I do use it daily and it's also nice to hang out in sometimes," she told the website.
Ms Parker also gives her followers a tour of the confined crate, which has blankets, teddy bears and stickers.
The outlet said Ms Parker's journey started from childhood. She was brought up in a "disruptive" household and used to seek comfort in small places, such as inside her wardrobe.
Even as an adult, that habit has not left Ms Parker and she continues with the "self-soothing" method whenever she craves a "safe space".
"I knew most people wouldn't understand or think it was weird. While it's sometimes frustrating, it doesn't really matter if it can help people struggling," Ms Parker told needtoknow.co.uk.
"I'm sure if it was a cardboard box or blanket fort, then no one would care."
Ms Parker said she has been targeted by cruel trolls.
"When people say the cage must be sexual it makes me uncomfortable. This is not because I can't understand why they think that or why someone else would want that, but because I go so out of my way to put disclaimers and reference my trauma. It feels like they're intentionally fetishising something that I've made clear is tied to trauma," she told the website.
Her revelations left TikTok users amused. "You have to be joking how r u not embarrassed," commented one user, while another added, "that looks so claustrophobic", as per New York Post.
"Childhood? Cage? What?" commented a third user.