The Wiggles star Anthony Field accused of endorsing drug use in video with Peking Duk’s Keli Holiday

The Wiggles have been accused of endorsing drug use and tarnishing their brand after two members of the beloved children’s group were featured in a TikTok video dancing with musician Keli Holiday to his new song about ecstasy.

The controversial video was removed from Holiday’s account on Friday afternoon following questions from The West Australian, with the iconic children’s entertainers claiming it was edited and posted without their knowledge.

WATCH THE VIDEO IN THE PLAYER ABOVE

In the clip, Blue Wiggle Anthony Field and The Tree of Wisdom can be seen dancing behind the Peking Duk band member — whose real name is Adam Hyde — to his recently-released song Ecstasy.

The chorus of the song states: “Hey girl come on dance with me. You and your pocket full of ecstasy.”

The video starts with Holiday gyrating with only a towel around his waist before showing him dancing with the pair in their official Wiggles costumes.

Field swings his legs and performs the signature Wiggle fingers, while The Tree of Wisdom does his famous dance in the video, which was posted on Thursday. By the time it was removed from TikTok and Facebook it had been viewed more than 92,000 times.

The clip was captioned “The Wiggles get it”.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for The Wiggles said: “We understand that a video circulating on social media has caused concern for many parents and professionals, and we want to address that directly.

“The Wiggles do not support or condone the use of drugs in any form. The content being shared was not created or approved by us, and we have asked for it to be removed,” she said.

“While Keli Holiday is a friend of The Wiggles, the video and the music added to it were created independently and without our knowledge.

“Our performance at the TikTok Awards was family-friendly and fun, and this video was edited together separately and without our awareness.”

Give me ‘Wake up Jeff’ every time, not this, it’s just not OK.

The spokeswoman added the group, “deeply value the confidence families place in us and we remain committed to creating safe, positive, and educational experiences for children and families in Australia and around the world”.

Adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg called the video “disturbing” and “potentially dangerous,” warning of the risks to impressionable children.

“I think it raises serious concerns when you have performers who hold enormous influence of young children and are iconic in Australian and you’ve got them referencing illicit drugs sending a confusing and potentially dangerous message to a vulnerable population,” Dr Carr-Gregg said.

“We should be sending messages to kids about healthy eating and diet and sleep and exercise and we shouldn’t be exposing them to lyrics which normalise, sanitise and glamorise taking illicit substances.

“Give me ‘Wake up Jeff’ every time, not this, it’s just not OK.”

Speaking prior to The Wiggles releasing a statement saying the video was done without their consent Dr Carr-Gregg slammed the video as an “epic fail” by The Wiggles. He said it amounted to “trashing” their brand and said an apology was warranted.

“It’s an error of judgment on (The Wiggles’) part . . . just come out and say we made an error of judgment, (we) probably shouldn’t have done this and we didn’t mean to trash the brand which I think they’ve done,” he said.

“The Wiggles have an audience — that’s who they should basically be communicating to — and there should be no crossover, and this is a crossover and I think it’s disturbing and wrong.”

Child and adolescent psychologist Clare Rowe said the video was not in keeping with the spirit of The Wiggles and left children exposed to inappropriate messages.

“They’ve built a branding and a legacy on being a very safe, joyful and wholesome presence in children’s lives . . . this is a complete lapse of judgment,” she said.

“It’s out in the public domain, it is findable by kids but more than that it’s just disappointing.

“If they weren’t in their Wiggles outfits I’d cut them some slack, their individuals, having fun — but they’re in the Wiggles outfits as the Wiggles, it’s therefore Wiggles endorsing that song, those lyrics.”

Dr Rowe questioned their motivations.

“Are they trying to be cool? Are they trying to be relatable? Children don’t benefit from them trying to be cool, they benefit from their protective space that preserves innocence,” Dr Rowe said.

“Early teenagers grew up watching Anthony Field, now Anthony Field is having fun, joking around about taking ecstasy. It’s so confusing for kids and it’s the wrong message.”

Dr Rowe warned the video could erode parents’ trust in The Wiggles.

“It leads parents to maybe mistrust,” she said.

“As a parent of young kids myself I would look at that and go well, if you’re going to associate with (drugs) do I need to check all the content that you’re putting out?

“I’m very happy to leave my three-year-old alone with The Wiggles playing up until now, I don’t know if I am now.”

The Tree of Wisdom had performed another — arguably more PG-rated track — with Hyde, who has been a staunch advocate for pill testing and whose band is popular in the dance music scene, at the Australian TikTok Awards on Wednesday night.

Field was also on stage playing the bagpipes for the performance of the song — Dancing2 — while Hyde’s girlfriend Abbie Chatfield, for whom the song was written, was on the bongo drums.

The controversy comes just days ahead of new laws banning children under-16 from using social media platforms, including TikTok.

Hyde’s management were contacted for comment.