Some days it seems impossible to keep pace with social media trends.
An old term for something with a strong smell was called “musty”. However, TikTok users around the globe have reintroduced it to refer to someone who is unhygienic and dirty.
This trend was evident last year, with celebrities being bombarded by social media with comments calling them “musty” because of their grungy looks or tired appearances during performances.
The hashtag has reached nearly 500,000 views and naturally users have used the phrase to create a viral challenge tasking other users to tell them if they ‘look musty or not’.
On the app, Musty can be used to denote someone who is dirty or smelly. One user, (pictured), joked about the strange trend and said she was adopting the Musty girls’ aesthetic.
Kyeeshia, from Manchester, was met with a host of bizarre comments when she posted a clip of herself – with several saying that she was both beautiful and ‘musty’
The app uses the term “musty” to denote someone who looks dirty, unclean or has a foul odor.
The phrase is defined on Urban Dictionary, an online collection of slang word definitions, as a ‘person who smells like they haven’t showered in days’ or a gross, or ‘a foul odour coming from someone’.
The insult has been hurled at many celebrities on the app, including British indie rock singer Yungblud who was branded ‘musty’ after a video of him spitting his beer off stage during a performance went viral.
YouTuber Bryce Hall was dubbed ‘musty’ for growing a mullet while other A-listers who have been dubbed ‘musty’ by TikTok users include Ed Sheeran, Post Malone and Megan Fox’s rapper boyfriend Machine Gun Kelly.
TikTok users are known for posting short clips of themselves, and then asking other TikTok users to tell them if they’re’musty.’ The comments to a video asking whether a user is “musty” are shown in the picture.
And while the likes of Kim and Kourtney Kardashian have brought a grungier style into the mainstream after announcing their relationships with Travis Barker and Pete Davidson – users have also deployed the insult on celebs who are simply coming back from a gym session.
American singer Dixie D’Amelio (age 20) broke down on The D’Amelio show.
TikTok users are known for posting short clips of themselves, and then asking other TikTok users to comment on whether or not they seem’musty.’
Kourtney Kfashion and Travis Barker brought a grungier look mainstram to TikTok, possibly explaining the musty trend.
It started when celebrities were branded “musty” for their looks, such as Megan Fox’s lover Machine Gun Kelly
Kyeshia from Manchester received a host bizarre comments after she uploaded a video of her self – many saying she was beautiful and very’musty.
One user said that it was clean but not too musty. Another agreed with the statement: “Musty.” Your beauty is still there, I’m just giving you musty vibes.
A third said, “Ur very pretty, but you give off musty vibes.”
Georgia, a TikTok user asked Georgia if she was “musty” and received comments that she looked “definitely clean”.
Many users poke fun at this bizarre trend by sharing funny videos and tags such as “Musty Girl” and laughing that they are adopting the “Musty girls aesthetic”. Others have called the trend “problematic.”
One user stated that they would not participate in this trend as the majority of those who are called’musty” are non-white, have bad skin or are darker than normal and are often people with dark skin and hair textures.
‘Sorry but i’m so tired of this whole “do I look musty” or “what do I small like trend” because it’s always the people with yellower skin tones or acne and dark circles or skin and hair textures getting told they look musty and smell,’ wrote one user.