Pop Spotlight

TikTok is not exactly the most sex-positive app. The platform tends to censor terms like “sex” and “stripping” (leading content creators to come up with clever workarounds in their captions, such as “seggs” and “skripping”), and sex workers often complain about being booted from the app for no good reason. Yet sex worker content (otherwise known as “accountant TikTok”) tends to go viral on the app, even if TikTok itself would prefer otherwise. The latest example is a trend using an edited version of a line from Jon Lajoie’s classic viral song “Show Me Your Genitals,” in which sex workers show off their earnings with the audio, “Men are stupid and I don’t respect them.”

@sarapemby

it’s a hard life i live ?? #sugarbaby #sugardaddy #sugartok #fypシ

♬ Men are stupid and I dont respect them – Lawrawr

@themotherofbabes

♬ Men are stupid and I dont respect them – Lawrawr

As co-hosts Brittany Spanos and Ej Dickson discuss on this week’s episode of Don’t Let This Flop, such content can be controversial, with many sex workers criticizing the trend for offering a romanticized version of sex work and diminishing the amount of labor the job requires. Yet the trend is ultimately less about sex work and more about an overall trend on the app toward skewering capitalist “hustle” culture, with many members of Gen Z joking about their desire to lean out of the work force entirely.

@n4lg0n

get your priorities straight smh #friendlyreminder #sugarbabetips #worklife

♬ original sound – JJCaba

In other sugar dating news this week, Dickson and Spanos discuss the recent split of Silly Bands CEO Robert Croak and his ex-girlfriend Sophia Spallino, who made headlines in 2019 for their 25-year age gap. (They met when he slid into her DMs on Instagram, thinking she was his friend’s niece.) For years, Spallino and Croak were a constant presence on TikTok, posting PDA and tips about how to have a successful age gap relationship. Yet in an emotional video on her page, Spallino recently posted that she had ended the relationship and was coming out as gay, officially marking a new chapter in her life.

@sophiaspallino

This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. @robertcroakofficial & I broke up. I’m just gay. #lgbtq #lesbiancommunity #lesbiantiktok #untamed #comingout

♬ original sound – SOPHIA SPALLINO

This week on Don’t Let This Flop, Spanos and Dickson also discuss the resurgence of the One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer groupie communities, with special guest, music writer and columnist Larisha Paul, weighing in on the early days of both fandoms. Other topics include the return of Couch Guy, Leonardo DiCaprio dating age limits, French exchange students and a Himbo of the Week with exceptional whipped cream-licking skills.

@robertdegolian

Ed 2.

♬ Я буду ебать – MOREART

DLTF is released Wednesdays on all audio streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher and more.