Now that TikTok is under partial ownership of Oracle, many viewers say that certain videos and topics are being censored, including ICE, Israel, and Jeffrey Epstein. Several popular creators have pointed out that their videos mysteriously show zero views. And users say that their for-you pages are recycling old content and topics. (Also, many people seem to be getting these random-ass, low-budget skits on their FYPs?) Commenters across the platform have been saying that blocking Oracle’s TikTok account will free them from the company’s oversight and fix their personal algorithms, which is not true.
A skiier in China was mauled by a snow leopard after she approached it to take a selfie. It is the first snow leopard attack against a human in known history. Although…the selfie is kind of great? She actually managed to get the picture riiiiight as the leopard was preparing to rip off her face.
BookTok this week remains aflame with the fire of anti-intellectualism vs. anti-elitism debates! Fans of commercial fiction popular on TikTok — for example, romantasy, thrillers, and spicy sex books — are at war with fans of literary fiction. The literary fiction fans decry the commercial genres as poorly written pap. The defenders of TikTok-trendy books say that this is elitism. The literary side says that the dearth of literary fiction is anti-intellectualism. Who is right?! Which side do you fall on?!
Are you just a lone penguin, relentlessly treading away from your colony, trekking through a vast and frozen wasteland to a mountain lying untold leagues in the distance? If you are, then you are just one of several million TikTokers who relate to a viral clip from the film Encounters at the End of the World, narrated by Werner Herzog, in which a penguin abandons his colony to waddle toward the mountains in the distance.
More importantly, though are you a young ho? The term originated from this immediately iconic tweet:
-Use a bunch of paper towels while cooking -Grab everything from their bedroom to go to the living room -Sleep with unfolded laundry on their bed -Take so much time to find the right show while eating that their food gets cold -Drive their car before it warms up in the winter -Cook while sitting down -Do one big-ass load of laundry instead of sorting it -Never turn on the big light -Pay the delivery fee instead of going out to get food -Leave their clean clothes in the drier and take them out one by one
I am not even going to link a video to this one, as it is too upsetting. [CW: Animal cruelty] A Twitch streamer and teen rapper named Aspen Kartier was streaming a TikTok live when she allegedly beat her new puppy so hard that he can be heard screeching and whining in pain. Thank fucking god, she has been arrested by Georgia police. I am warning you, there is video with audio of it available online, but it is very, very disturbing.
The curse of January breakups stays coming for TikTok couples: Brynne and Mario broke up, Paige Saffold (Positively Paige) is getting divorced, “Donut Mom” Alexandra Sabol broke up with her ex, and Danielle Bernstein (We Wore What) broke off her engagement.
How about some niche drama about a pottery studio? Rainbows Pottery in Boston, MA, first went viral this month when a woman named Brenna posted that it cost her $140 plus a tip to paint a bowl that would typically cost $40-$60 to make at a similar pottery studio. The owner, Allison, gave her a sob story about her dog having cancer to wring some more cash out of her. Then, it came out that the studio employs a level-three sex offender named Drew. By the way: the studio markets itself toward children’s parties and groups of women. Also, the guy apparently tried to sell Zendaya’s phone number.) to a random woman on the street for $200, lmao. Allison or one of Allison’s family members made a fake account to comment on the original woman’s video. Finally Allison posted a response video in which she defends Drew. She also claims that Brenna committed a crime for talking about Drew’s case on social media and that the Boston police are now investigating Brenna for it.
Remember that viral trend of putting biscoff cookies in yogurt? Well, it has evolved into making gigantic concoctions in tubs of cheesecake filling packed with biscoff cookies, strawberries, and strawberry pie filling and drizzled with strawberry sauce, caramel, and/or biscoff topping.
Okay, but this food trend actually looks good: a burger with sweet potato buns, but the buns are literally two slices of sweet potato. It went viral when it was introduced by a stripper who has great abs, so, by that logic, anyone who eats it will get abs too, right?
This golden clip of Maya Rudolph on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has been making the rounds, and to what end? TOOOOO what end?!
The top song on TikTok is currently the 1972 hit “Made in Japan,” by country star Buck Owens.
Finally, the philanthropist and beautician Shirley Raines, better known as Ms. Shirley, has died at age 58. Through her nonprofit organization, Beauty 2 The Streetz, she provided food, haircuts, cosmetic services, and hygiene products to unhoused people living on L.A.’s Skid Row. RIP, queen. I just know you’re giving glam makeovers to the angels in heaven.
