Instagram's favorite cat Lil Bub was hacked because we can't have nice things
Something terrible just went down on Instagram.
Lil Bub, one of the app's most popular celebrity pets, was hacked.
The account has since been restored to its rightful owner, Mike Bridavsky, but not before the alleged teen hacker posted expletive-filled videos and live streams to the account's 1.7 million followers.
It's not clear what happened to the account, but its avatar and bio were changed as the account began posting selfies demanding things like "if u want ur ig back call me daddy."
"It was hacked by a teen, we have control again," Bridavsky wrote in an email.
Lil Bub has long been one of the most popular cats on Instagram, thanks to her uniquely adorable face. Bridavsky, the cat's owner, has turned her pet's vast social media following into a force for good to raise money for organization helping animals in need.
Needless to say, Lil Bub's legions of followers were not happy about seeing their favorite Internet cat's Instagram filled with trolling posts.
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While the account was only compromised for about an hour, it likely reached thousands of people as the account has a total of 1.7 million followers.
Mashable has reached out to Instagram for more information about the hack, and we'll update as soon as we hear back.
UPDATE: Dec. 7, 2017, 2:50 p.m. PST A person claiming to be Lil Bub's account hacker has contacted Mashable in an email and has provided screenshots what appears to show admin access to Lil Bub's Instagram account. The person claims: "I am not a teen, I am 11 years old."
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
