Chris Hemsworth and Wife Under Fire for 'Violent' Birthday Prank On Son

Thor actor Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky are in hot water after sharing an Instagram post of a prank they pulled on their 9-year-old's birthday.

Fans, however, took that post the wrong way as Pataky slammed her son's face into the chocolate cake, branding her actions as "violent" and "ridiculous."

Pataky can be seen pressing her son's head into the birthday cake while Hemsworth and their other two kids laugh in the background.

A fan commented on the post saying, "Why people smash their kid’s face in the cake is above my understanding but whatever."

Another user commented, "Why do people think this is funny?” while another chimed in the comments section, "It’s so violent.”

While Hemsworth and Pataky haven't commented on the backlash yet, we know that their family has always been up for an adventure and willing to take risks.

The 39-year-old actor performs a majority of his own stunts and even suffered a back injury in 2021 while shooting for Thor: Love and Thunder.

Talking about his experience with injuries, Hemsworth said, "On certain days when I've had a few injuries - and I had quite a few during Thor - it can start to become a drag you know?"

He further added, "But over the past year or so, I changed up a lot of my training and nutrition program, and I feel the best I've ever felt."

It's unclear whether he wishes for his kids to follow in his footsteps but he did share that he wants them to proceed in life with gratitude, "I want them to have a great appreciation for everything."

Not all fans jumped in to criticize the couple and rushed to their defense, with one of them saying, "Violent? It’s a bit of play, Just a bit of basic humor….. they look like they are having a good time together.”

Another fan extended his support saying, "Those kids are gonna grow up able to take a joke not be some little fairy who thinks having their head dipped in frosting is violent."

Hemsworth shared the now-viral post on his Instagram and captioned it saying, "Happy 9th birthday to my two little men! Only one way to eat cake in this house and that’s to have mum slam your head into it face first!!”

Sharing what exactly went down before his son got his head shoved in the cake, Hemsworth wrote, "Hey mom I don’t like chocolate cake I prefer vanilla. Oh really son, what about now?”

Hemsworth and Pataky tied the knot in 2010 and have since been going strong. The couple now shares a daughter, India, and twin sons, Sasha and Tristan.

The post comes shortly after Hemsworth announced his break from acting after being diagnosed with a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's while filming his last film Limitless.

Hemsworth recently opened up to Vanity Fair about his disease and the "intensity [of] navigating” through the test results and said, "Most of us, we like to avoid speaking about death."

He further revealed, "Then to all of a sudden be told some big indicators are actually pointing to this as the route which is going to happen, the reality of it sinks in. Your own mortality.”

Since Hemsworth has two copies of the APOE4 gene in his DNA, it makes him "eight to 10 times more likely” to undergo the life-limiting disease.