Calabreso / Calma Calabreso

About

Calabreso is an ironic nickname uttered by Brazilian comedian Toninho Tonardo in a series of prank videos uploaded on YouTube since December 2022. The nickname, which can be translated as "pepperoni" in English is said by the comedian in prank content skits trying to provoke people in the street. In September 2023, this phrase and many others said by Toninho Tonardo went viral on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram, as people used his jokes for parody videos, ironic memes and other memetic content. In early February 2024, during an argument between contestants of the reality TV Big Brother Brazil one participant said the phrase Calma, Calabreso (Calm down, Pepperoni), which was not understood as a silly nickname by others, causing the term to grow exponentially online, especially in Brazil.

Origin

The earliest mention of the "Calabreso" (Pepperoni in Portuguese) nickname was posted on YouTube^[1] by the Brazilian comedian Toninho Tonardo on December 2nd, 2022. In the video titled "O Calabreso tá com o pai" (shown below), he pranks people pretending to be hurt to make it seem they are a couple. The video amassed over 324,000 views and 12,000 likes in two years.

Spread

The catchphrase and nickname "Calabreso" went viral somewhere in September 2023, when clips of the comedian started to go viral on TikTok. For instance, on September 30th, 2023, TikTok^[2] user @cortesdotornado posted a clip of comedian Toninho Tonardo calling out a group of men by "calabresos" (pepperonis), which amassed roughly 88,000 plays and 1,500 likes in six months. On October 23rd, 2023, TikTok^[3] user @corteshitpost posted a clip from a podcast interview the comedian gave in October in which he shared many other ironic nicknames he calls people in his pranks. The post (shown below, right) amassed more than 3,100 likes in five months.

Big Brother Brazil 'Calabreso' Argument

On February 1st, 2024, contestants of the reality TV show Big Brother Brazil were arguing at a party and the participant Davi tried to calm things down by saying "calma, calabreso" (calm down, pepperoni), which is one of many catchphrases said by the comedian Toninho Tornado in his prank videos. The joke, however, was not understood by the other contestants, who perceived the phrase as fatphobic towards one of the contestants. Davi's X^[4] account posted a video (shown below) of the contestant justifying why he said the phrase and that it had no coronation towards people's bodies. The video amassed over 4 million views and 68,000 likes in a day.

The fight between the reality TV participants and the "calabreso" nickname quickly became a viral topic on social media. For instance, on February 2nd, 2024, TikTok^[5] user @melomatheuss_ posted a skit video making fun of the reality TV fight (shown below, left), amassing roughly 54,000 plays and 15,000 likes in less than an hour. On February 1st, 2024, TikTok^[6] user @foquinha uploaded a similar skit video (shown below, right) pretending to be Davi, the Big Brother Brazil contestant, waking up the other participants. The video received over 76,000 plays and 5,200 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References