About

Versailles Run is a Creative Effect on TikTok that places a user's face over a 3D animation of a woman in an old-fashioned formal ballgown running frantically through the halls of a palace, presumed to be the Palace of Versailles based on the name. The filter became notably popular on the platform the month it was dropped, with videos often set to a remix of Lady Gaga's "Love Game" by musician Drew Stevens.

Origin

During the week of May 17th, 2021, TikTok added a Creative Effect called "Versailles Run" to their filter catalog. The filter makes it appear as if the user is running through a 3D rendition of the Palace of Versailles in a formal ballgown as if escaping from peril. It is unknown who first used the filter, but some of the earliest successful videos using it are set to the original sound "оригинальный звук" by TikToker^[2] "Makeup Queen," and date back to May 19th, 2021 (example from that date shown below).^[3] The original sound consists of the 2014 Drew Stevens remix of "Love Game" by Lady Gaga.^[1]

Spread

The filter continued to grow in popularity over the course of the week, resulting in a number of viral examples. On May 20th, TikToker^[5] @tuckot posted a video using the filter, garnering over 17 million views in four days (shown below, left). On May 22nd, Dexerto^[8] published a piece on how to use the filter.

On May 23rd, TikToker^[6] @mariannefaith_12 posted a video about excitedly rushing to tell a rude customer their card is declined as a waitress, garnering over 12.9 million views in a day (shown below, right). As of May 24th, these are the most popular videos using the effect under the relevant sound.

On the same day, TikToker^[4] @liamcarps posted a video in which he dresses like the character and pretends to be the filter, captioned, "When the filter isn't available in your country," garnering over 37 million views in a day (shown below).

That day, TikToker^[7] and H3 Podcast host Ethan Klein posted a video about James Charles' criminal allegations, garnering over 1.1 million views in a day (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References