For the past couple of weeks, a popular trend has been sweeping TikTok, teaching scrollers the valuable lesson to not make assumptions about others. ICYMI, TikTok’s “holy airball” trend starts with someone posting a photo in a slideshow with text explaining that they made a basic-sounding statement about themself. The next slide shows how someone might respond to that statement — usually in a way that minimizes the truth of that statement. Then, the final slide shows what the poster *actually* meant with the original statement they made. Oh yeah, and the slideshow is almost always set to the song “Soul Survivor feat. Akon” by Jeezy. (Yes, this is an important detail — you’ll soon see why.)
The trend has been a fun way for TikTokers to reveal fun, unique, or bizarre facts about themselves. For example, one creator named Sarah Krugel posted, “told them I had a lot of school spirit.” The next slide read the response, “so you were a cheerleader?” Then, she followed it up with a video of her dancing as her college mascot, Western Kentucky University’s Big Red, with the caption “#holyairball.” But it’s not just your average user who’s revealing fun facts about their otherwise normal-seeming lives. Now, the nepo babies have entered the chat.
In recent years, due to more public conversations about wealth and privilege, there’s been an uptick in criticism of nepo babies — aka, people whose careers (usually in Hollywood, but not always) are due at least in part to them having a famous or extremely successful parent or relative. Some nepo babies have pushed back against the title, claiming they still earned their careers (which has only garnered them more criticism, in most cases). Others have downplayed their status. But there are also some nepo babies who fully embrace their label, acknowledging the leg up they received due to their family members that gave them a huge advantage over others — and they’re currently doing so through the “holy airball” trend.
“I told him my dad was a judge,” Zoe Jackson wrote in a TikTok slideshow, before revealing she meant her dad was Randy Jackson, OG judge on American Idol. Similarly, Ava Phillippe posted, “I told him my mom’s a lawyer,” then shared photos of her mother, Reese Witherspoon, dressed up as her Legally Blonde character, Elle Woods. Other famous participants in the trend include Jackson Daly (son of TV and radio host Carson Daly) and Francesca Scorsese (daughter of famous filmmaker Martin Scorsese). But perhaps the most iconic instance of a nepo baby doing “holy airball” is Alianna Thiam, whose dad (*the* Akon) is the one singing the song used in the trend. “I won’t even try to deny it,” she captioned the post.
Some TikTokers are… less than pleased with nepo babies hopping on the trend. “Am I supposed to care that you’re f*ckin’ rich?” pop culture commentator @realitywithali asked in regard to the trend. “Am I supposed to like it? Am I supposed to help you get richer and follow you?”
However, despite the ongoing discourse surrounding nepo babies using their families’ connections and resources to achieve success, these posts have actually been largely met with praise. Fans have shared tons of positive comments, like “Too iconic” on Phillippe’s post, and, “Pack it up everyone, she won” on Thiam’s post. So, could this mean the nepo baby hate is starting to subside, or are these celebrity kids just getting a pass because their posts pass the vibe check of the current trend? Time will tell.