Latest news with #BallerinaCappuccina
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How AI-Generated, Vaguely Italian Memes Are Taking Over Your Teen's Social Media Feed
If you're the parent of a t(w)een, the memes that fill your social media feeds are probably a whole lot different than your teenager's. You might be used to seeing a distracted boyfriend, a dog sitting in an office that's on fire, or Drake in 'Hotline Bling' on Facebook or Instagram. But if you were to scroll through your child's TikTok feed — or overhear them talking about new memes — you might think they were looking at sneak peeks of an off-the-rails new Pixar film or that they were taking up a new language. More from SheKnows Your Teen Is Probably 'Aura Farming' - Here's What It Means (& Why It's Basically a Joke) Because what in the Grumpy Cat is 'Italian Brainrot?!' It's a new internet craze featuring a whole host of outlandish, AI-generated characters that have Italian-sounding names said in an exaggerated male text-to-speech voice alongside nonsensical phrases. Some names are inspired by actual Italian words, while others just have a similar cadence. According to Forbes, some of the top characters are Ballerina Cappuccina, a dancer with a coffee cup head, Tralalero Tralala, a three-legged shark wearing blue Nike kicks, and Lirili Laria, a sandal-wearing elephant-cactus hybrid walking through the desert. If you're trying to wrap your head around what sounds like a Mad Lib, we understand (and we're in the same boat). But these wild mashups have gained a cult-like following of young people who love to view and create the AI-generated memes. Why? Well … why do teens latch onto anything? Experts think the surreal and absurd characters have become something for teens and their peers to enjoy and laugh about when so many other parts of their lives might be difficult. This brainrot is a means of distraction. And no, if you've been biting your nails waiting to find out what 'brainrot' or 'brain rot' is, it's not a medical condition. Your child is not sick. 'Brain rot' — which was chosen as Oxford University Press' 2024 Word of the Year — just means spending excessive amounts of time on screens watching 'trivial' or 'unchallenging' content. And sure, that could supposedly impact someone's cognitive function in the same way excessive screen time could have a negative impact on anyone's health. So there is no need to necessarily be any more concerned than usual if your teen is constantly talking about Tralalero Tralala. Or, perhaps they are now fans of Mexican, German, or French Brainrot characters. They might even be enthralled with Tung Tung Tung Sahur, a stick of wood from Indonesia who sings with Ballerina Cappuccina in a video that has more than 5.4 million likes. In many ways, this is a modern way for teens to be creative and unwind. But (… we all knew there was a 'but' coming, right?), there are problems with the trend. Parents reports that some teachers are finding that students can easily derail a lesson by mentioning one of the characters or their catchphrase. And speaking of those catchphrases, some are being called offensive. Remember that Nike-loving shark? His voiceover says both 'Allah,' the Arabic word for 'god,' and 'porco,' an Italian word for pig. According to Forbes, members of the Muslim community are upset about this combination. 'No one will claim responsibility for the perceived Islamophobia — some say it's just an inadvertent coincidence stemming from absurdity,' Freddy Tran Nager, a clinical associate professor of communications at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, told the outlet. 'But it's not unusual for memes to be appropriated by extremist groups, such as Pepe the Frog being adopted by white nationalists.' And so Italian Brainrot does have the ability to be incredibly offensive. Especially when not all social media users speak the language most closely associated with the trend. Even some of the backstories of these beloved characters can lean into NSFW territory, and then, of course, there is the negative environmental impact of creating these AI-generated photos and videos in the first place. So, what should parents be doing about Italian Brainrot? Well, like with any technological craze, going over some boundaries is a good idea. Are there certain hours when kids have to stop scrolling (no matter how much they want to learn more about Chimpanzini Bananini)? Let them know that chatting with their friends about Bombardiro Crocodilo is probably OK … as long as it's not in the middle of biology class. And it's always a good idea to remind kids that they should research what they are saying before mindlessly repeating. Capisce?Best of SheKnows 'Post-Mother's Day Letdown' Is a Real & Valid Thing Every Single Celebrity Parent Who Welcomed Twins Beyoncé, Chris Hemsworth, & More Celebs Share the Most Important Life Lessons They've Learned From Their Moms
Vogue
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Welcome to Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner's Ballerina Flat Summer
In 2023, this magazine declared ballet slippers the most fashionable shoe in street style; in 2024, it named them a seasonal must-have; and less than three weeks into 2025, it sealed their mainstreaming as an 'It-shoe.' Fair enough: these flats have proliferated on just about every pavement and catwalk in the years preceding TikTok's ballet-core phenomenon, which, if you are under the age of 16, has taken a bizarre turn with the emergence of 'Ballerina Cappuccina.' Over the past fortnight, a slew of articles have been published with headlines like, 'What Is Ballerina Cappuccina—And Why Does My Child Keep Saying It?' An early example of Gen Alpha slang, the term refers to an absurd meme wherein an AI-generated ballerina with the head of a cappuccino cup pivots and pirouettes to a voiceover of what is essentially Italian gibberish: 'Ballerina Cappuccina, mi-mi-mi-mi / È la moglie di Cappuccino Assassino E ama la musica, la-la-la-la / La sua passione è il Ballerino Lolol.' Whoever— or whatever—Ballerina Cappuccina is, she's an icon. So much so, in fact, that schoolchildren have started using her name as a form of flattery. Two people who fullfill the aesthetic obligations of being a free-spirited Ballerina Cappuccina are Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid. The friends were yesterday afternoon photographed enjoying a post-Met Gala debrief in two takes on the broader ballerina trend: Gigi in camo pants and olive-green Miu Miu ballet flats offset by her bubblegum-pink Chanel 22 bag; Kendall in an ecru vest, straight-legged jeans and an Olsen-made Hobo bag with Eva ballerinas. The image could serve as a still from Sex and the City. Which is a point worth considering – before Ballerina Cappuccina was twirling to mumbo jumbo, Carrie was talking nonsense in a tutu.
Forbes
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
AI-Generated Meme Queen Ballerina Cappuccina Now A Makeup Trend, Too
Ballerina Cappuccina may be AI-generated, but she has a face plenty of humans want to copy. Ballerina Cappuccina has flawless skin, full lips and thick, eyelashes that curl upward, nearly reaching her perfectly arched brows. Given that she's AI-generated, she comes by her look effortlessly, but that hasn't stopped humans from trying to replicate it. 'Ballerina Cappuccina has a very girly, delicate and whimsical look,' said Hayley Bui, a German beauty and fashion influencer who last week posted a TikTok video of herself made up to look like the social media celebrity. 'Her overall appearance is very soft.' Bui isn't the only one channeling Ballerina Cappuccina. Makeup tutorials inspired by the viral character are popping up all over TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. So far, Bui's video alone has racked up 2 million views. In case Ballerina Cappuccina hasn't twirled through your online feeds yet, she's a spawn of the Italian brain rot craze that's sweeping social media. The trend combines absurd AI-generated characters — hybrids of humans or animals fused with inanimate objects and given cartoonish Italian-sounding names and voiceovers recited in an over-the-top accent. (Think 'It's a-me, Mario' from the Mario video game franchise.) The term 'brain rot' refers to the supposed detrimental impact of consuming too much low-quality content — Oxford University Press named 'brain rot' its 2024 word of the year (even though it's often written as two). Italian brain rot, with its blend of random silliness and classic AI surreality, has captured imaginations worldwide — inspiring character rankings, quizzes, songs and entire plots where characters meet, compete, fall in love and have babies. More than 86,000 TikTok videos have been tagged #italianbrainrot as of this writing, with some pulling in millions of views. 'I thought the pictures and names of the characters are so creative and funny that I went down the rabbit hole and looked up all of them,' Bui said in an interview. TikTokers Hayley Bui (left) and Sophie Grace are two of the many humans going for the look of viral ... More AI-generated character Ballerina Cappuccina. Bui's favorite characters from the Italian brain rot ecosystem so far, she said, are Chimpanzini Bananini, an ape in a banana peel; Tralalero Tralala, a three-legged shark sporting blue Nike sneakers; and, of course, Ballerina Cappuccina, a tutu-wearing dancer with a coffee drink for a head — and not just any caffeinated beverage, but one with flushed cheeks and an expertly shaded nose. 'I thought she was such a cute character and I love her super feminine soft makeup,' said Bui, who has 3.1 million followers on TikTok. Miens made up to resemble Ballerina Cappuccina's share a few basics: an even, matte base; a rosy-peachy glow that extends from the cheeks up and around the eyelids and forehead area; a nose contoured in coffee tones; extra long eyelashes; and glossy pink lips. 'The hair should also be in a bun to complete the ballerina aesthetic,' Bui added. This isn't the first time a non-human social media star has ignited a beauty trend. Last year, Moo Deng the viral baby pygmy hippo inspired a makeup look that mimicked her distinctive perpetual glow. Bui has recreated anime and cartoon looks with makeup before, but until now hasn't emulated a face generated by artificial intelligence. In her Ballerina Cappuccina makeup video, Bui also reproduces another AI-generated character from the Italian brain rot universe — Espressione Signora, a presence in Ballerina's storyline who has a darker, more smoldering look. Mirta Miler, a Croatian producer and content creator who has upward of 20 million followers across social platforms, has also fallen under Ballerina Cappuccina's pinkish spell. She posted a Ballerina version of the popular 'get ready with me' videos that involve looking into a camera and chatting with viewers while putting on makeup. 'I don't know what to think of us as a society,' Miler says in the video as she swipes light foundation over her eyelid with a sponge stick. 'I feel like this brain rot is the only thing keeping us sane.' Sane and glowy, that is — though so far, no one appears to have cracked the code on how to get Ballerina's cappuccino cup head. That may be one look only AI can pull off.
Forbes
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
What Is ‘Italian Brain Rot'? The Surreal TikTok Obsession, Explained
Ballerina Cappuccina, one of the breakout stars from the Italian brain rot trend. What happens when fantastical AI-generated animals meet a cartoonish Italian accent? Say hello to 'Italian brain rot,' a wild mashup of artificial intelligence and absurdist humor now flooding social media. Brain rot, of course, describes the supposed deterioration of one's mental or intellectual capacity caused by spending excessive time consuming trivial or unchallenging content. It's such a familiar phenomenon in our internet-saturated lives that Oxford University Press named 'brain rot' its 2024 word of the year (though it's often written as two). So how does brain rot become Italian exactly? TikTok is answering that question with a meme that involves a growing cast of surreal AI-generated characters — animals fused with other creatures or inanimate objects and given rhyming, Italian-sounding names uttered in an exaggerated male text-to-speech voice alongside a random and usually nonsensical phrase. Some of the names draw from real Italian, while others simply mimic the rhythm of the language. Among the better-known characters are Ballerina Cappuccina, a tutu-wearing dancer with a coffee drink for a head; Lirili Larila, an elephant covered in cactus needles traipsing through the desert in Birkenstock-style sandals; Tralalero Tralala, a three-legged shark wearing blue Nike sneakers; and Trippi Troppi, a cat-fish hybrid. The trend underscores both the high absurdity potential of AI-generated images and videos, and the internet's enduring affinity for ridiculous rabbit holes (or should I say bucoconiglios ridiclio?). Italian brain rot has become something of its own universe. TikTok is currently full of videos ranking characters, quizzes testing knowledge of them (and people bragging about their fluency), original songs and fan fiction where the creations meet, fall in love and have babies. In the clip below, for instance, Ballerina Cappuccina looks pretty smitten with Tung Tung Tung Sahur, an anthropomorphized wooden creature holding a bat who originated in Indonesia, because the trend has gone international. Mexican brain rot characters have joined the mix, as have culturally specific counterparts from France, Germany and beyond. The Italian brain rot meme appears to date back to January, but it's grown into a full-fledged phenomenon spawning new posts daily. Nearly 77,000 TikTok videos have been tagged #italianbrainrot, with some racking up tens of thousands, and even millions, of views. Freddy Tran Nager, a clinical associate professor of communications at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, calls Italian brain rot the ''I Can Has Cheezburger' of the AI generation' — a reference to the wildly popular meme of nearly two decades ago featuring cats with that amusingly nonsensical caption, which also spawned a social humor site of the same name. 'It's absurdist escapism for social media users, especially young Americans, overwhelmed by stressful news, a frustrating job market and new fears — deportation, measles, global warming disasters,' Nager said in an interview. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the trend, which has even caught the attention of brands such as Samsung Belgium and Ryanair, an airline group based in Ireland. Both posted videos inspired by the Italian brain rot universe, which has spilled over from digital creations into hand-drawn characters, Lego builds and tattoos. 'Italian brain rot is ridiculous, and that's the point,' said Francesco De Nittis, manager at marketing agency Human Centric Group and author of a blog post on brands' use of the meme. 'Gen Z loves content that feels spontaneous, surreal and made for instant consumption.' But for all its creative energy, the Italian brain rot universe has stirred complaints of offensive content. For example, Tralalero Tralala the shark comes with a phrase that incorporates both 'allah,' the Arabic word for god, and 'porco,' an Italian word for pig. This has angered some in the Muslim community and led pleas not to repeat the words and apologies from people who insist they had no idea what they were saying when sharing Trocolero Tralala content. 'No one will claim responsibility for the perceived Islamophobia — some say it's just an inadvertent coincidence stemming from absurdity,' Nager said. 'But it's not unusual for memes to be appropriated by extremist groups, such as Pepe the Frog being adopted by white nationalists.' Created as an innocent character in 2008, Pepe mutated into a symbol of hate seven years later, serving as a stark reminder of how dramatically memes can morph as they spread around social media, and how fast popular playful images can assume darker meanings. But while there's no telling where Italian brain rot will meander next, for now it remains a swirl of AI silliness and faux-Italian flair that's less politics and meme warfare and more about the internet's boundless appetite for weirdness. Just ask Ballerina Cappuccina, who's blissfully pirouetting through the chaos.
New York Post
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Is your kid is speaking Italian gibberish? Blame this Gen Alpha ‘brainrot' meme
It's giving… espresso-induced insanity. If your 10-year-old suddenly starts yelling 'tralaero tralala!' while pirouetting like a caffeinated ballerina, you're not hallucinating. You've just been hit with a full-blown case of 'Italian Brainrot' — Gen Alpha's latest hyper-online obsession that makes 'Skibidi Toilet' look like Shakespeare. Forget pasta, art, or bona-fide Italians: This trend has nothing to do with the land of 'La Dolce Vita' and everything to do with AI-generated chaos, garbled gibberish and digital derangement. Born on TikTok in early 2025, 'Italian Brainrot' features bizarre, AI-spawned characters with fake-Italian names and storylines as warped as a Funhouse mirror. Philip Lindsay, a social media creator who calls himself a 'student translator,' described Italian Brainrot as 'blending AI-images and videos with made-up stories' in a recent video. 'If I hear ballerina cappuccino one more time…' threatened one parent in the comments of another recent video by Lindsay. Picture a ballerina with a cappuccino cup for a head (ballerina cappuccina), a crocodile-bomber-plane hybrid (bobardiro crocodilo), and a sneaker-wearing shark chanting his own name (tralaero tralala). The concept behind 'Ballerina Cappuccina' was dreamed up in March by 24-year-old Susanu Sava-Tudor in Romania. In an email to the New York Times, Sava-Tudor described the trend as a 'form of absurd humor' that's 'less about real Italy and more about the cinematic myth of Italy.' His original video introducing 'Ballerina Cappuccina' — which he spelled 'Balerinna Cappucinna' — has since garnered over 45 million views and 3.8 million likes on TikTok. 3 'Ballerina Cappuccina,' a whimsical concept created in March by 24-year-old Susanu Sava-Tudor in Romania, has racked up over 45 million views and 3.8 million likes on TikTok since he first introduced it — under the original spelling 'Balerinna Cappucinna.' Tiktok/@ The clips come with exaggerated 'Italian' voiceovers that sound like a Super Mario fever dream. Oxford even named 'brainrot' one of 2024's words of the year, which should tell you everything you need to know about the current state of humanity. And Gen Alpha can't get enough of it. 3 Oxford even designated 'brainrot' as one of its 2024 Words of the Year — a reflection, perhaps, of the cultural moment we're living in. And for Gen Alpha, the obsession shows no signs of slowing. Dmytro Hai – Content creator Summer Fox recently went viral after admitting she thought, at just 27, she was still 'down there with the kids' and 'up to speed with the slang.' But after hearing Gen Alpha tossing around phrases like 'Ballerina Cappuccina,' she realized she was out of the loop. In the clip, she shared that kids told her the phrase means someone who looks 'cute and classy' and that it's used as an adjective. Fox also noted other Gen Alpha lingo like 'Skibidi,' 'what the sigma,' and 'aura points' — proof that today's youth speak in memes, not sentences. Even educators are struggling to keep up. Teachers say kids are yelling out Brainrot catchphrases mid-lesson, disrupting class, as reported by Parents. But before you declare your household a 'Ballerina Cappuccina'-free zone, remember: to your kids, this is the new knock-knock joke. It's a way to bond, be silly, and flex their aura points. 'The sheer randomness of the meme is the point,' Yotam Ophir, a communications professor at the University at Buffalo, told the New York Times. 3 Before you ban 'Ballerina Cappuccina' from your household, keep in mind: for kids, it's the modern-day knock-knock joke — a playful way to connect, be silly, and show off their vibe. Natalia – 'What users get from it is the sense that they are in the know — that they know something their mom doesn't know.' 'Maybe at some point there will be meaning to it,' Lindsay, the middle school teacher and content creator who studies Gen Alpha slang, told the outlet. But for now, it's just another entry in the growing universe of AI-fueled 'mumbo jumbo.' Molto bene, or whatever.
