Overview

Vikings Male Cheerleaders Louie Conn and Blaize Shiek Controversy refers to public backlash surrounding the addition of two male cheerleaders, named Louie Conn and Blaize Shiek, to the Minnesota Vikings cheer squad in August 2025. Some critics believed that Conn and Shiek's addition to the all-female team was indicative of a leftward, pro-LGBTQ+ shift in the Vikings' and NFL's image. Detractors called for their removal from the team. The hate also received pushback from those who supported Conn and Shiek. Notably, Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn shared an Instagram post amid the backlash, showing themselves with the caption, "Wait… did someone say our name?"

Background

During the 2025 NFL offseason, two male cheerleaders named Louie Conn and Blaize Shiek were added to the Minnesota Vikings cheer squad.

They first debuted in a video shared by the @mvcheerleaders and @vikings Instagram^[1] pages on July 28th, 2025, which showed them among other rookie candidates at the Vikings cheerleader auditions. The video received over 2,000 likes in a month.

The two were later added to the cheer squad, as seen in a Reel shared by the @mvcheerleaders and @vikings Instagram^[2] pages on August 9th, showing them performing with the other cheerleaders. The video gained over 25,800 likes in nine days (shown below).

Online Reactions

In the abovementioned video's comment section on August 9th, 2025, some users expressed outrage over Louie Conn and Blaize Shiek's addition to the team. For instance, Instagram user @donbrandonnn wrote "I'm not a Viking fan no more," gaining over 5,700 likes in a week.

Others praised their addition, like Instagram user @madi.cspr, who commented, "LOVE the inclusivity!!! SKOL Vikes! 💛💜," gaining over 500 likes in a week.

Also on August 9th, 2025, X^[3] user @tradwifemom tweeted a photo of cheerleader Blaize Shiek, writing, "This is an official Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader this year. I’m so done with this state JFC." The post received over 12.5 million views and 9,100 likes in nine days (shown below).

On August 10th, X^[4] user @DustBaker quote-tweeted the abovementioned post, writing, "My hot take here is that you can let this guy live his life, work where he wants, and leave him the fuck alone," gaining over 111,000 likes in eight days (shown below).

Also on August 10th, 2025, X^[5] user @tonyposnanski quote-tweeted the same post, attaching an image of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan as a male cheerleader at Eureka College, gaining over 144,000 likes in eight days (shown below).

On August 17th, TikToker^[6] @amyrose58034 posted a video of the Vikings cheerleaders performing. She called the male cheerleaders "absolute fire" in the caption, further writing, "If this upsets you, check in with your therapist." Over one day, the video gained over 42,600 likes (shown below).

Also on August 17th, 2025, X^[7] user @LuisMorenolg quote-tweeted a video from Russian news outlet RT, captioning it, "Ask yourself why the official Russian government news outlet, directly under the operational control of the Kremlin, would inject themselves into the U.S. culture war to stir things up." In a day, the tweet received over 32,000 likes (shown below).

Developments

Louie Conn and Blaize Shiek Instagram Post

On August 16th, 2025, Louie Conn and Blaize Shiek shared an Instagram^[8] post that showed themselves wearing Vikings cheer outfits with the caption, "Wait… did someone say our name?" Over two days, the post gained roughly 28,400 likes (shown below).

News outlets like the Daily Beast^[9] and Fox News ^[10] covered the post in articles in mid-August 2025.

Search Interest

External References