MANILA – Many people probably know by now that the face of the supposed Momo Challenge is based on a sculpture named Mother Bird.

And the Japanese artist behind it, Keisuke Aiso, feels responsible after his work was used to scare children and their parents.

In an interview with The Sun, the 43-year-old assured that Mother Bird – or Momo – is gone.

“It was rotten and I threw it away,” he said of his 2016 creation. “The children can be reassured Momo is dead – she doesn’t exist and the curse is gone.”

According to Aiso, the so-called Momo sculpture was “never meant to last” because it was made of rubber and natural oils.

He admitted that he created the piece with the intention to scare people, “but it was never meant to be used to make children harm themselves or cause physical harm.”

Some fact-checking groups and organizations have claimed that the Momo Challenge is a hoax, but parenting and security experts see the phenomenon as an opportunity to discuss measures to protect children from dangerous online content.