Baby Tate shares her own verse to “Period Ahh, Period Uhh” by TikTok star Britt Barbie. pic.twitter.com/cP85oc4ND3
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 17, 2022
Turns out, controversial TikTok star Britt Barbie is from Missouri.
But the teen doesn't want to share too many details about herself. "I'm from Missouri," Britt Barbie explained in an email. "But [I] don't want people knowing exactly how old I am or what part I stay in, so I keep all of that information guarded."
Britt Barbie went viral two weeks ago with a video she posted to TikTok repeating the phrase "period ah, period uh" against the beat from the Drake and Future collaboration "I'm the Plug."
In an interview with Speedy Morman, Britt Barbie explained that she used to do hauls on her TikTok channel and ended every haul with "period ah" indicating it was a good haul.
"And so then I was thinking like what if I buy something and it's period uh, like it's not good. So I made it into a song," she said. Adding that period ah is something she said her whole life. When Speedy Morman asked about why she sticks out her tongue when singing period ah, Britt Barbie said, "It gives period ah vibes."
Britt Barbie also explained that she did the TikTok in one take after donning a wig from Shein.
We'll leave the artistic merits of the work to the ears of the beholders, but the short video did rack up more than 22 million views. (Possibly netting Britt a total of $600 paid out from TikTok's parent company, the Chinese-based ByteDance, worth $275 billion.)
Britt Barbie's video included a portion with just the Drake/Future beat rolling so that others could contribute their own verses in impromptu duets.
Among those who jumped on the trend were Atlanta rapper Baby Tate and singer Chloe Bailey. Brooklyn-born pop singer and Lays potato chip company collaborator Bebe Rexha also get in on the action.
Even Cardi B gave the eight-syllable hook a shout-out via Twitter.period ahh period uhh pic.twitter.com/Rg4SZOb8AA
— Chlöe (@ChloeBailey) September 17, 2022
Backlash, however, quickly followed.
Numerous Black influencers called out Britt Barbie for caricaturing Black women both in the "Period Ah, Period Uh" video as well as in previous posts.
"Period, please stop it," read the sub-headline in one BET article covering the backlash.
Now, if you search #Brittbarbie on Instagram, the first posts that come up are all taking her to task.
When asked about the controversies, Britt Barbie was not eager to talk about them. "I am just me," she wrote. "I've never mocked anyone. I love Hiphop [sic] and it's gotten me through very dark days. The same way that Nicki Minaj had Roman, I have Britt Barbie."
Britt Barbie is referring to one of Nicki Minaj's alter egos, Roman Zolanski.
Prior to this month, the content creator mostly posted eccentric videos to her TikTok account @BrittBarbie2. She filmed herself professing to be confused about hair growing from the scalp. In the video, she speaks with an urban accent, which led one person to confront her and say she made the video to mock Blacks.
Also, because Britt Barbie has made videos where she uses funny voices or speaks like she has a speech impediment, many in the autistic community have called for her to be cancelled, saying she is pretending to be autistic. Britt Barbie has not claimed to have autism or a speech impediment.
Around the same time, TikTok took down her original video with its more than 20 millions views. She didn't have permission to use the Drake/Future beat. Subsequently, her entire TikTok account was deleted.
She's started a new account though: BrittBarbie3. She already has 1.2 million followers. And you have not heard the last from her.
"I have a few record labels bidding over me at the moment," Britt Barbie said via email. "I’m not rushing into anything. I know my worth. In less than 24 hours, my new song 'Bag, Secured Period' has already brought in over 4 million views."
@brittbarbie3 #brittbarbie #periodahh #affirmations #spongebob #brittbarbie22 #bestdayever #zodiacsigns ♬ original sound - Brittbarbie3
