Theme parks are bound to get negative reviews from YouTubers and influencers, but you wouldn’t expect them to publicize those reviews themselves.

Knott’s Berry Farm bucked that conventional wisdom decided at this year’s Scary Farm event to promote one of its own shows.  

The show in question is “The Hanging,” a mainstay of the Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween season that portrays itself as an edgy, satirical look at the past year in pop culture, theme parks, and politics. The show once invited such “intense negative feedback” that it was put on hiatus after 2019, only to be revived in 2023. It’s been leaning into its controversial reputation ever since, with Knott’s show writer and director Jeff Tucker hyping this year’s show by saying, “I can’t wait to piss everybody off.” 

The show has earned its share of detractors over the years, and in 2025, that included Peter Sciretta, one-half of the duo behind the 450,000-subscriber Ordinary Adventures YouTube channel along with his partner Kitra Remick. 

After seeing the 2025 edition of “The Hanging” as an invited media guest, Sciretta said: “It was like they were trying to SNL but it was written for two-year-olds. It was so dumb, it wasn’t even offensive. It was like nothing.” He concluded by saying, “I will never go see this thing again.”

So for the 2026 Scary Farm, Knott’s decided to post portions of Sciretta’s negative review on a sign outside this year’s “Hanging” show — crediting him only as “Idiot on YouTube.”

The sign carried a warning that the show is not intended “for the easily offended,” although Sciretta’s review had actually said the show was “dumb” and “not offensive.”

Other content creators were largely critical of the tactic by Knott’s. Mouse Planet called the move “so unprofessional and honestly childish.” Filmmaker and author Jose Prendes said it was “unreal petty bulls**t.”

Sciretta — who is also well-known for being the founder and former editor of movie blog Slashfilm.com —  told Theme Park Tribune that his streak of being an invited media guest for Scary Farm ended this year after that negative review, though he had already planned not to attend. 

“We decided not to go this year’s [Scary Farm] months ago before media invites went out (we didn’t get one anyways),” he told Theme Park Tribune. “I’m not sure the reason we didn’t get invited, because we usually have the biggest viewed video of the event on YouTube each year, so I’m guessing it might have to do with my review of the show and honestly we were underwhelmed by the event in general, as a lot of the older houses were understaffed due to apparent Six Flags budget cuts.”

Sciretta went on to say he thinks his criticism of last year’s show “struck a nerve” with Tucker, the show’s writer and director. “Maybe they think they are just being funny” by posting his review, Sciretta said.

Theme Park Tribune sought comment from Knott’s about the criticism of its “Hanging” sign and to clarify whether Ordinary Adventures — or any other members of the media — have been stripped of media access to the park’s events because of negative reviews. A Knott’s spokesperson who asked not to be identified replied with the following statement on Sept. 19:

“The Hanging has never shied away from poking fun at pop culture, current events, the entertainment industry or even our own park and company. The inclusion of an anonymous review quote was intended as a lighthearted nod to the fact that not every show is for every audience. We embrace differing opinions and view them as part of the conversation surrounding live entertainment. In fact, the review reinforces what fans have long known about The Hanging, that it’s a unique, edgy production that inspires strong reactions, both positive and negative.”

Notably, after Theme Park Tribune sought comment for this story, Knott’s altered its sign to cover up the “Idiot YouTuber” attribution, though Sciretta’s negative review remains.

Other theme parks, including some in the Six Flags chain, have tried to punish criticism by taking away media access, though the targets have usually been traditional media outlets. 

In 2024, Cedar Point blocked local newspaper The Sandusky Register from a media preview following years of critical reporting on the park, including stories about the August 2021 accident which closed Top Thrill Dragster and reports of sexual assaults inside Cedar Point’s employee dorms. 

Closer to Knott’s, Disney temporarily banned a Los Angeles Times film critic from its advance screenings in 2017 in retaliation for the paper’s reporting on Disney’s political dominance of the Anaheim City Council. Backlash from other news organizations led Disney to rescind the ban within days.

Editor’s Note: Following the original publication of the story on Sept. 18, 2026, Knott’s provided a statement to Theme Park Tribune, which has now been added to the article.