The “mugshot challenge” has been making waves on video-sharing platform TikTok, and now a number of content creators and celebrities have taken part in the “challenge” and been slammed as a result.
The internet is often awash with strange challenges or memes that seem to come out of nowhere, but more often than not they seem relatively harmless and manage to go largely unnoticed – but not this one.
The mugshot challenge sees people do their makeup so as to look a bit rough, or in a bad way, essentially how one might look in their mugshot, but many have called out the challenge as “insensitive” and called out those taking part.
As with any major trend online, popular influencers will jump on to test it out, gain some interaction and stay ahead of the curve, but this one has hit a nerve for some due to what it depicts.
Both James Charles and Corinna Kopf posted their own iterations of the challenge, complete with a bloody nose, bruised-looking eyes and bronzed cheeks, basically looking as though they have been beaten up or been involved in a fight.
https://twitter.com/CorinnaKopf/status/1246938369839353856
Videos posted to TikTok of the challenge have already accrued over 110 million views, but as bigger influencers, the likes of Charles and Kopf are taking the heat and bulk of criticism for it.
While a lot of people have said the use of makeup and artistry looks great, there are of course people who do not see it as such and have not made any effort to hide their distaste for the challenge.
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One Twitter user, openedSource, called it “tone-deaf and insensitive” due to the surging number of domestic violence cases, while ‘indi’ said that “none of these people will ever live in fear of a corrupt and prejudice justice system.”
Cases of domestic violence are surging. I couldn’t imagine anything more tone deaf and insensitive right now.
— @openedSource@bsky.social (@openedsource) April 6, 2020
none of these people will ever live in fear of a corrupt and prejudice justice system and theyre out here romanticising jail and violence whilst domestic violence is on the rise due to quarantine, wrap it up folks!
— -`ˏ indy ˎ´- (@indipine) April 6, 2020
Charles did take the time to respond to one follower, Breanne, who said that her experience as a domestic violence victim made the trend very uncomfortable for her. He apologized for her experience and explained the origin of the mugshot challenge, before reassuring Breanne that he loves her.
hi babe, I’m so sorry that you went through something so awful and traumatic. it’s a tik tok trend going around where people post their “mugshots” and has nothing to do with domestic violence whatsoever. love you
— James Charles (@jamescharles) April 6, 2020
Neither content creator has yet to comment openly on the criticism, and it’s not yet clear whether they will, but as openedsource pointed out, this could potentially be an issue with sponsors and partners if they pick up too much heat.
With so many people taking part in the challenge, it’s possible the detractors speaking out against Charles and Kopf move on before long, but how they respond – if at all – will need to be very carefully considered.