The Brief: The Haha Lil Darkie trend on TikTok is marked by creators transforming their looks set to "Haha" by Lil Darkie. The song is controversial online for is reported racist undertones.
DEEP DIVE
Updated 6/15/2020: This article was updated to reflect a controversy surrounding the song’s origins and reported racial undertones.
TikTokers are showing off their cool, cute, or creepy glow-ups performed to “Haha” by Lil Darkie. These videos normally feature a TikToker dressed down before they completely transform. These video usually end with TikTokers putting their hands up and laughing simultaneously with the music. It’s unclear who started the trend. These videos began growing in popularity on June 7. There are currently 219,000 videos linked to the audio.
“Haha” Lil Darkie lyrics featured in TikTok videos:
Look at me
I put a face on, wow
Look at me
I put a show on when I go
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Creators have put their own quirky spins on the trend, ranging from beauty glow-ups to full-fledged special effects transformations.
Loren Gray showed off her makeup skills an amassed over 15.9 million views and 2.2 million likes.
@lorengray hahah
Creator @Gabrielakelis turned into a dragon. Her creative twist garnered over 1.3 million views and 296,000 likes.
@gabrielakelis 😂😂😂
Creator @aaron.ps spliced his videos with clips of an animal, rather than turning himself into one. The hilarious take gained over 1.7 million views and 434,000 likes.
@aaron.ps It gets better every time you watch it 😂😭 #fy #fyp #foryou #foryoupage
TikToker @Itsundos us known for stretching his skin to abnormally long lengths on his account. He didn’t hold back while taking part in the trend.
@itsundos no transition needed
Other takes on the trend:
@heyjohnson Wow🤪 #Tomholland #spiderman can someone tell me why I can’t save drafts
@rio.tew the pale man #art #artist #makeup #drawing #panslabyrinth #foryoupage #foryou #fyp
@mikaylajadebrown
@megnutt02 Yes. I FINALLY GOT ALL my WISDOM teeth OUT #WorldOceansDay #hahaha
The song’s artist has caught some flack for his stage name, “Lil Darkie” which is linked to a racist caricature. The situation is exacerbated by reports that the artist is not Black. This was first brought to light by TikToker @daijdafinest.
Tiktok that brought it to my attention pic.twitter.com/iJCIDvX3ye
— senpai 💖is {t i r e d}. ✊🏾BLM! (@favoritesenpaii) June 10, 2020