Friend uses 'immersion therapy' prank to help woman face her fear of a Disney villain

While childhood fears are often dismissed as silly, some linger into adulthood, haunting us in unexpected ways. In one such case, a group of friends decided to tackle their friend's lingering trauma from Disney's "Aladdin" by pulling a hilarious "immersion therapy" prank. Twice, Kyle Philippi (@kylephilippi on TikTok) transformed himself into Jafar, with help from none other than the villain’s original voice actor, Jonathan Freeman.

Kara Carneal, who described herself as a devout Disney fan from the '90s, grew up with a fear of Jafar. She reportedly spent years sleeping with her parents after watching “Aladdin” on VHS at an early age. Years later, Kyle learned about Kara’s apprehensions, which persisted even after she became a fully grown adult. That’s when Kyle decided to indulge in exposure therapy and rescue his friend from the “powers of darkness.”

“Broke into my friend’s apartment once I found out that she has an irrational fear of Jafar,” Kyle wrote while posting the video. As Kyle, all dressed up as Jafar, entered Kara’s home, the latter panicked and tried to cover her face with a pillow. “I don’t like it. Ew, I feel like it’s not you,” she uttered while bursting into a nervous laugh. When Kyle asked if the experiment worked and whether Kara was finally freed of her fears, her response was again not very encouraging.

“I am white as a freaking sheet. You busted through the door and I was like ‘Haaaw’ as I accepted death,” Kara said. To which Kyle joked, “It's also 9:40 pm at night. Wait, did you think you're being by a burglar or Jafar?” bringing a smile to Kara’s face. She even claimed that she was “dripping sweat” after Kyle barged into the home, in addition to getting a flashback of all the scary memories.

Months later, Kyle gave it another shot with a more elaborate prank. This time, red lights and smoke machines set the mood during a friends' dinner at his home. “Oh my gosh! I thought it was gonna happen. Ew, the red light,” Kara was heard saying in an Instagram video.

“Come here. Good evening to you, Princess Kara. You've grown so much since you were last a little girl running around the palace,” Kyle, as Jafar, lip-synced the voice of Freeman. The caption added, “Having the legendary voice of Jonathan Freeman saying her (Kara’s) name is what sent her over the edge.” Kyle acted “brilliantly,” maintaining all the antics of the original “Aladdin” character, Freeman later told Today.

Taking a jibe, Kyle said, “It's wonderful to see you again, my dear. And you look sensational. I hear that you wish to get over your fears. As your royal visitor, I can assist you with that.” He further promised to serve Kara forever, provided she looked back into his eyes. “Kara, you will not be afraid. Now that you are free, you will have eternal reward,” Kyle added. The video managed to garner millions of views, with many people sharing their POV on the entire act.

Among them, @nattousan hailed, “Hiring the actual frickin' voice actor to deliver the monologue is infinitely more impressive than any cheap AI voice script could ever hope to be; the commitment to the bit is immaculate.” Adding to it, @livthefox said, “I totally understand her; running into Jafar at Disneyland at six years old has left a mark on me.”

You can follow Kyle Philippi (@kylephilippi) on TikTok for more funny and lifestyle content.