About

Hear Me Out Cake Trend, also known as Smash Cake Trend, refers to a viral TikTok trend based on the Ok, Hear Me Out meme in which people add a printed image of unusual characters or celebrities that they find attractive on top of a cake, justifying their choice after sticking the photo (usually attached to a toothpick) into the cake. The trend went viral in late September 2024, spawning parodies and jokes on social media over the following weeks.

Origin

On January 9th, 2024, TikTok^[1] user @queridx.lx posted the earliest known video about the hear me out cake trend. In the video (seen below), she added several printed photos of celebrities and the Zootopia fox character Nick Wilde on top of a cake, calling it "smash cake" as a reference to the slang term "smash." The video amassed over 6 million plays and 1 million likes in 10 months.

Spread

The hear me out cake trend was popularized on TikTok several months later in September 2024, inspiring friends to film themselves by adding printed photos of unusual characters or celebrities they feel attracted to on top of the "smash cake."

For instance, on September 28th, 2024, TikTok^[2] user @helpimflyaf posted a video alongside a friend, each adding a cartoon character they felt attracted to on the cake. The video (seen below) garnered over 5 million likes in a month.

On October 6th, 2024, the TikTok^[3] couple account @tonyanddayna posted a video doing the hear me out cake trend (seen below), garnering more than 16 million plays and 2 million likes in a week.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References