- TikTok videos joking about being arrested using the song "Locked Up" by Akon have gone viral.
- They include a filter that makes it appear the user is in the back of a police car.
TikTokers and celebrities are going viral with videos that joke about being arrested for doing something that isn't currently illegal as part of a trend set to the song "Locked Up" by Akon.
The videos follow the same format, with creators using a filter known as "POlice by Jphant," which makes it look like they are in the back of a police car, and an a capella version of "Locked Up" playing in the background.
They typically include text overlayed to describe something the user has done in the past or that they currently love doing, joking that if it were "made illegal," the user would end up arrested. The lyrics featured say, "I'm steady tryna find the motive/Why I do what I do?"
Over 200,000 videos on TikTok have used the sound so far, with most in the style of the trend.
Singer Joe Jonas posted a version of the trend on August 22 writing, "If forgetting lyrics was illegal." In 2019, the Jonas Brothers appeared on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" and Joe's brothers said he always forgets lyrics to his songs and has to use a teleprompter on stage. His video has received over 800,000 views.
@joejonas Lock me up ♀️
♬ locked up - Coinyes
Singer and actor Hayley Kiyoko posted a similar video on August 21 with the text reading, "If drinking lemonade ever becomes illegal."
In the caption, Kiyoko tagged it with #LemonadeMouth. The hashtag refers to the 2011 Disney Channel Original movie of the same name that Kiyoko starred in, in which a group of outcasts bond over drinking lemonade and form a band. Her video received nearly 8 million views, and fans praised it as well as the movie in the comments.
Jersey Shore star Vinny Guadagnino also made a "Locked Up" video, with his receiving over 11 million views. The text states, "If being the one who just reads the group chat but doesn't respond becomes illegal."
@vinnyguadagnino Lock him up
♬ locked up - Coinyes
Other popular videos in the trend include, "If being the funniest sibling becomes illegal," "If having bad taste in men became illegal," or "If being a bad bitch ever becomes illegal." Many receive over 1 million views.
The sound used in the videos was first posted in April by a TikTok user known @coinyes, who posts videos of popular songs that feature only vocals. The video showed Akon singing the chorus, but the audio didn't include any instruments.
The earliest video in the trend's format appeared to be posted on August 9 by @montyjlopez, the father of influencer and actor Addison Rae, which received over six million views. Lopez has recently been embroiled in controversy over accusations he had a relationship with a woman who wasn't his wife. This led to a feud with influencer Tana Mongeau, who commented under one of his videos, "I'm calling the police."
His video did not feature on-screen captions, but showed Lopez lip-syncing to the song in the back of a police car using the filter and captioned with "Got me!"
@montyjlopez Got me! #run #gotme #lockedup ♬ locked up - Coinyes
The song "Locked Up" was released in 2004. It's written from the perspective of a person who has been incarcerated and doesn't know when they'll be released. According to NME, Akon previously stated he wrote the song while in prison.
Though the trend appears popular among TikTok users, there are some detractors. Zoë Hecht wrote for the online publication HerCampus that it "makes light of an important conversation in today's climate regarding police interactions," and advised that TikTokers "be mindful of the real-world impact" of the trend.
Other TikTok trends that have been similarly criticized include the "Mugshot Challenge" in 2020, which involved using makeup to appear battered and bruised and then taking mugshot-style photos and videos. Many influencers who joined the challenge were later accused of glamorizing violence. A trend in 2021 which saw people pretending to be arrested and taken away by police also received backlash for glamorizing police brutality.
Akon, Joe Jonas, Hayley Kiyoko, and Vinny Guadagnino did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
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