This Viral TikTok Trend Is All About Shading Your Ex

There's no denying that breakups can be tough. To assist in the "moving on" process, you might need to throw away your ex's favorite sweatshirt, delete all of their photos — and maybe even partake in the "Canceled" TikTok trend, which essentially entails sending your ex a diss track.

This trend centers around TikTok star Larray's new song "Canceled," which currently has over 40 million views on YouTube. With his ridiculously catchy tongue-in-cheek lyrics, Larray masterfully takes down the likes of James Charles, Bryce Hall, and Tana Mongeau, who have all been canceled in one way or another in 2020.

After its release in October, Larray told paparazzi that the song is meant to be fun, saying, "I don't want people to take it seriously. It's a joke." He went on to say he's young, he's just having fun, and that he doesn't have beef with anyone.

And the fact that almost everyone mentioned in the song, including Bryce Hall and James Charles, actually appear in the "Canceled" music video — which takes place in a classroom at "Canceled University" (lol) — you kind of have to believe him. TikTok star Josh Richards, who also appears in the video, even said, "We as creators that make fun of people and do that sh*t, we need to be OK to take a joke."

As for the trend, folks have been sharing photos of themselves with their ex(es), along with one of the best lyrics from Larray's song on loop: "I thought a b*tch who lost the baddest b*tch said sum'," which is a direct reference to Addison Rae's song "I Need A Bad Bleep." Check out an example of the trend here:

Typically, the creator features a few choice photos of themselves alongside photos of their exes with the hashtag #baddestb*tch. And because this is TikTok we're talking about — which is known for taking a trend and morphing it endlessly — you might also see videos featuring celebs who have broken up, like this one:

There's even a semi-heartbreaking One Direction version:

In some ways, the trend can be seen as empowering. After all, you're basically hyping yourself up while highlighting what your ex is missing — a cool person who is now doing so much better without them. By calling yourself the "baddest b*tch," you're showing some next-level, Cardi B-style confidence. And that's a great mindset to have after a breakup.

But the trend can also get people in trouble. By posting photos of your ex with this lyric, you're opening a proverbial can of worms. It's essentially airing your business for the internet to see, which can feel cathartic in the moment — and then come back to bite you later on. We saw it happen when TikToker Hootie Hurley followed the trend and posted a #baddestb*tch video of his ex, YouTuber Vanessa Merrell. Ironically, he immediately got himself canceled for publicly calling out their private relationship, without asking for Merrell's permission first.

Then, there's the fact the second half of the lyric basically calls your ex a "b*tch." While it's common to harbor negative feelings about an ex, it isn't necessary to take them down or call them names as you process what happened. Not to mention, lots of people are choosing unflattering photos of their ex for this trend, to make them look extra bad.

While you gotta love a cheeky diss track when it's targeted at TikTok stars, I think we can all agree a diss track about an ex is probably better off left in your drafts.