An Aussie skincare brand posted a 'silly video' on TikTok. Then Andrew Tate entered the chat.

Some things we never expected to see in the same sentence: tbh skincare and an Andrew Tate-fuelled misogyny debate.

To bring you up to speed, Aussie brand tbh skincare recently posted a viral TikTok video, following a trend where a group of young women chant in a circle, describing their personal characteristics/outfits.

Yes, it sounds strange describing it like that, but it's a thing. Trust me. 

In the clip, founder Rachael Wilde, 27, described herself as a "Gen Z boss in a mini" while other young co-workers describe themselves with chants like "itty bitty titties and a bob" and "fake tan hands and a hoop".

Their version was inspired by the original "boots and a slicked back bun" clip on TikTok. 

(And yes, Mamamia even did a version of the trend).

If you haven't already seen it doing the rounds on social media, here it is for reference:

@tbhskincare I’m telling my kids this was Little Mix #bootsandaslickbackbun #workhumour #officelife #tbhskincare @maisieisobel_ ♬ original sound - tbh skincare

Where are we going with this?

Well, tbh skincare's clip seemed to go viral for all the wrong reasons. And the backlash was... intense.

Watch: Speaking of viral moments, here's the 'marathon mum' video. Post continues below.

On TikTok, commenters slammed the post for being "cringe", "horrifying" and "corporate".

One person wrote, "I'd fire all of you immediately."

"This is hell," wrote someone else.

But the worst of the commentary came after another account shared the clip on X (formerly known as Twitter). 

"Honestly, it’s like nothing we have ever experienced before," Wilde told Mamamia. 

"What started as a silly TikTok trend that we decided to jump on, was taken and posted on X. It racked up 44M views and before we knew it we were a worldwide meme.

"In the four years since we launched, that fun, positive energy has always been at the core of what we do as a brand. As marketers, jumping on a TikTok trend and going viral is the dream, but we would have never anticipated how a video of this nature would become such a point of interest."

It was here the video sparked some intense, sexist trolling. 

It was even put on blast by controversial influencer, Andrew Tate.

"If you do not escape The Matrix, women like this will be your boss," Tate tweeted. 

"Zog corp loves emasculating men by forcing them to listen to semi-sentient females. If that doesn't motivate you to get rich, nothing will."

Sharing a screenshot on her personal Instagram, Wilde wrote, "It's fascinating to watch how upset the men across Twitter have become over a fun little video? Honestly, it's not that deep."

Image: X/Instagram.

The misogynist scrutiny continued, with comments like, "I completely understand why it took so long for women to get rights." 

"Bring back the gender pay gap," someone else wrote.

Speaking of the reaction, Wilde told Mamamia it was surprising to see what started as a "silly TikTok trend" become a global conversation about women in the workplace.

"It is an interesting dialogue to see occurring. There is definitely an underlying message here that implies women cannot express themselves authentically, or film fun trends like these, and at the same time be intelligent, talented individuals," she said. 

"Women’s interests are often dismissed as frivolous and dumb. I think this conversation we saw online was definitely an extension of this. As a team, we tried not to get tied down in the negative commentary, as it was not reflective of our team or the culture we create in our office. We are big believers in being able to bring your full self to work, show up and have fun, whilst also being incredible at your job." 

The controversy and backlash surrounding the original clip inspired the young business owner to post a follow-up clip, responding to the negative commentary.

@tbhskincare Feeling inspired by all the love x #genzbossandamini #bootsandaslickedbackbun #workhumour #tbhskincare #skincareroutine ♬ original sound - tbh skincare

"It’s difficult to see how some have made the jump from members of the marketing team volunteering to dance in a silly TikTok, to misconstruing it with 'using staff'," Wilde added. 

"As a female founded brand, and the leader of the marketing team that took part in this video, I do everything in my power to make sure the team feels supported, safe and happy in their workplace. This has always been my number one priority as the leader of this team from day dot. I am so proud of how the team has handled all of this. We have all banded together and are supporting each other through it."

Any publicity is good publicity, right?

Have you seen the clip? What are your thoughts? Share them with us in the comment section below.

Feature image: Supplied/@tbhskincare.

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