Louisiana’s Cajun Ninja Apologizes After Jumping Off Mardi Gras Float to Confront Rude Heckler

Houma, LA (KPEL News) - Jason Derouen has become known across social media platforms for the cooking videos he posts under the name Cajun Ninja. His hometown of Thibodeaux, Louisiana, showed their pride by naming him grand marshal of the Krewe of Mardi Gras Parade in Terrebonne Parish.

Known for not only his cooking style and signature phrase “Let’s get CrackaLackin! Pi-YAHHHHH!!," Derouen has more than a million followers on Facebook and 140K on Instagram. 

People who live at least part of their lives in the public eye become accustomed to not being liked by everyone. A famous quote sums that reality up: "I can't tell you the secret to success, but I can tell you how to fail. Try to please everybody."

As Derouen rolled through the street on the Mardi Gras float, a rude heckler in the parade crowd decided he should share his opinion of the Cajun Ninja loudly and profanely.

The attendee, identified as Frankie Duplantis by  the Houma Courier- Thibodeaux Daily Comet identified as Frankie Duplantis, was shouting expletives, making crude gestures, and insulting Derouen and his cooking.

At some point during the tirade, the Cajun Ninja leapt from the float to confront Duplantis. A bystander held the two men who were about to fight apart, and Derouen got back on the float.

People in the vicinity who witnessed the melee agreed that Duplantis' heckling was over the top. One woman heard a number of F-bombs come out of Duplantis' mouth, aimed at Derouen.

Sunday, Derouen posted an apology and explanation on his social media accounts for the way he handled the incident. He explained that Duplantis' move around the float to insult, curse at his wife, and call her a vulgar name caused the situation to escalate. You can read the full statement below.

Meanwhile, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet told the Houma-Thibodeaux papers that his department would look into the situation and decide what actions, if any, should be taken.

Stories of tensions running high and bad things happening at Mardi Gras celebrations across Louisiana are rampant. Most times, the consumption of too much alcohol leads to altercations. We don't, however, know if that played a part in the incident during the Houma-Thibodeaux parade.