Latest news with #holyairball
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Holy airball! Have the nepo babies found another way to put everyone's backs up?
Name: Wealth bragging. Age: There's Buddhist scripture warning against it, so let's assume pretty old. Appearance: Evolving. Don't worry, I'm very up to date on this. It's all about stealth wealth these days, right? You mean subtle demonstrations of wealth that deliberately make a point of not looking obnoxious? Yes, that's exactly it. Ha ha ha. No. What has it changed to? Are you familiar with the 'holy airball' trend? I'm an adult with real-world responsibilities, so of course I'm not. OK, so the TikTok kids are saying 'Holy airball' whenever someone underestimates them. For example, the professional swimmer Alexia Sotomayor posted a video that said 'told him i'm a swimmer, he said 'i used to swim in the summer, i can probably beat you''. Then there was a clip of her preparing for the world championship, and the word 'Holyfrickenairball'. Oh, gross. Yes, it's a wildly ostentatious boast. But now the nepo babies are doing it. Give me an example. Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe's daughter, Ava, just posted a TikTok that read: 'I told him my mum's a lawyer, and he said, 'Oh what firm does she work at?'' The holy airball moment here was a photo of her mother in Legally Blonde. Any others? Martin Scorsese's daughter, Francesca, got in on the act ('I told him my dad is a film-maker. He said 'Oh nice, for like commercials or something?'' ) and Akon's daughter, Alianna ('told him my dad was in the music industry … he said 'oh, like a manager?''). Oh, it's wrong to be proud of your parents now, is it? Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Because now the children of CEOs have waded in. The daughter of an Airbnb executive posted a TikTok reading, 'I told him my family owned an Airbnb. Him: 'Oh their little apartment must be cute'', followed by a slideshow of expensive rental properties. The daughter of an Anthropologie designer did one that said: 'I told him my mom designed a famous candle. He said, 'like for a farmer's market?'.' This is sweet. No it isn't. It's one thing to brag about your own accomplishments, but it's far uglier to brag about accomplishments you had nothing to do with and only benefit from. The subtext of all these TikToks is essentially: 'Look how rich I'm going to be when my parent dies.' I'm not sure that's the case. And the format of the videos is offputting too. God forbid anyone asks you a follow-up question when you're boasting about your mum. So I shouldn't show off about my parents online? Not unless you want everyone to think you're incapable of standing on your own two feet without them, no. Do say: 'TikTokers are bragging about generational wealth.' Don't say: 'Their parents must be so proud.'
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
Nepo babies are using the ‘holy airball' TikTok trend to humble brag about their famous parents
The 'holy airball' trend that's all over your For You page is the latest way the internet is sharing humble brags. The videos, which have amassed millions of views on TikTok over the past few weeks, follow the same formula: a person shares a statement, the next slide is an assumption often leveled at them, followed by the more impressive truth. The videos are soundtracked to 'Soul Survivor' by Jeezy featuring Akon, and the final slide always references the now viral phrase holy airball —a basketball term for when someone takes a shot and misses the basket. Many have used the trend to brag about their achievements or joke about their unexpected personality traits or life circumstances. An example would be if someone assumes that your family owns a local store, but your family actually own a huge conglomerate. As the trend has gained momentum, the nepo babies have now entered the chat. 'Told him my mom's a lawyer,' Ava Phillipe wrote in a TikTok video posted on Monday. 'He said 'oh, what firm does she work at.' The following slides are of the Elle Woods from the 2001 film Legally Blonde. Reese Witherspoon, who played Woods, is Phillipe's mother. 'Told him my dad was in the music industry,' Alianna Thiam wrote in a TikTok posted last week. 'He said 'Oh like a manager?' Next are pictures of Thiam with her father, the singer Akon. 'Bro literally made the trend,' she added. Akon cowrote and is featured on the song that accompanies the trend. 'The fact this trend is to his song is iconic for you,' one person commented. 'Trend over, you win,' another added. A third example comes from the TikTok account of Francesca Scorsese. 'I told him 'my dad is a filmmaker,' she wrote. No prizes for guessing who appears on the following slide. 'Ok we can't top this y'all,' one comment read. Other TikTok accounts are capitalizing off their famous last names and confusing the internet in the process. There's Abigail McDonald, who wrote 'told him my family owns a food place' / he said, 'oh so like a small business.'' The next slide shows an image of the fast-food chain McDonald's. A TikTok account for Gracie Abercrombie posted, 'told him 'my family owns a clothing store.' The next slide is a photo of the popular clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch.
