Boy Trashes House While Dancing to 'Edge of Seventeen' in Hilarious Home Insurance Commercial

From driving kids to ballet class to getting all their supplies for an art project, you're no stranger to sacrificing a lot of time, energy, and cash to support your children's self-expression. But then there are the times when they decide to express themselves by swiping paint or crayons all over the walls and by breaking precious valuables—and those are times when you're less inclined to make a sacrifice. Or, at the very least, you'll be glad you had home insurance that covers "accidental damage." That's the all too relatable reality that John Lewis Home Insurance showcases in a funny new commercial entitled, "Let Life Happen."

In the spot, an elementary schooler, dressed to the nines in lipstick, heels, and a flowy dress, dances through his home to Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen" while swiping his face with brightly colored paint, breaking glass tchotchkes, tossing feathers and glitter every which way, and knocking over whatever's in his way. But given the destruction in his path, mom is fairly unperturbed—probably because she has a home insurance policy that'll cover damage to anything she needs replaced. So she stays put as her child gets in touch with his inner witchy, boho rock star.

The ad has since been pulled with John Lewis & Partners writing on Twitter, "This advert has been withdrawn because the Financial Conduct Authority considers the content to be potentially misleading and could cause customers to be confused about John Lewis' new home contents insurance offering." John Lewis & Partners goes on to explain that wasn't its intention and instead it "was created to show a joyful depiction of a young actor getting carried away with his performance, oblivious of the unintentional consequences of his actions."

Along with that backlash, others said the ad was "agenda-pushing" and showed "male entitlement."

But despite plenty of parents cringing seeing a child tornado his way through the house in a way they can absolutely imagine—or have actually experienced—their own child doing, the ad has also been praised as a "glorious antidote to toxic 'boys will be boys' messaging."

It's also timely, debuting in the wake of Lego's announcement that they're axing gendered toys after learning via research that children are still held back by embedded gender stereotypes. The company said there is a need for wider society to "rebuild perceptions."

Here's hoping the ad not only contributes to that end but also helps to desensitize parents to the next time their kid decides to express themselves by making a big freaking mess.