Bill Hirst knows people may get confused seeing young moviegoers walking around in suits to see “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”
But the teenager behind the “Gentleminions,” which has become the latest viral social media trend on TikTok, said the act was not meant to offend or confuse people. It was just something fun that he and his friends decided to do that unexpectedly blew up.
“I think the trend would’ve happened with or without me, but I think our TikTok made it more viral than it would’ve been,” Hirst, 18, said in an interview. “I think it was a really great promotion for the minions.”
Once thought of as the cringiest content on the internet, the Minions from the “Despicable Me” franchise have been reclaimed by Gen Z after videos like Hirst’s have spread across TikTok. As of Wednesday afternoon, his TikTok, which features him attending the film in suits with his friends, had amassed more than 36.6 million views and more than 8.7 million likes.
Now, around the globe, people have been spotting “Gentleminions” at theaters. As in Hirst’s video, many of the “Gentleminions” TikTok videos showcase groups wearing suits flocking to the movies, with the song “Rich Minion” by the rapper Yeat, which appears on the film’s soundtrack, playing in the background. Some videos also show the groups posing with steeple hands, the gesture made by Felonius Gru, the protagonist of the “Despicable Me” franchise (voiced by Steve Carell).
Even Universal Pictures has taken notice, tweeting on July 1: “to everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: We see you and we love you.” (Universal Pictures and NBC News are units of NBCUniversal). A spokesperson declined to comment further on the trend.
Hirst, who was about 6 years old when “Despicable Me” came out in 2010, said he thinks the trend is likely to have resonated with others because it tapped into the nostalgia Gen Z has for the franchise, which they grew up with.
“I think one of the reasons” it has done so well “is the nostalgia,” he said. “I grew up watching all the ‘Despicable Me’ movies. I didn’t mind having to go and watch the 1½ hours to do the TikTok. It’s a good movie, and it brought back the memories of watching the ‘Despicable Me’ movies with my family.”
The story behind the video
Hirst got the idea to go to the theater in suits from TikTokers, who suggested pulling off the stunt but had not posted videos actually doing it at the time.
He and a group of his friends…
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