Advertisement
Culture

“What is going on”: Nara Smith’s odd baked potato video inspires parodies—and raised eyebrows

Please be careful if you’re going to choke each other for views.

Photo of Lindsey Weedston

Lindsey Weedston

nara smith choking baked potato video

Cooking influencer Nara Smith and her husband, Lucky Blue, weirded out TikTok with an unexplained choking move during a baked potato video.

Featured Video

At the beginning of the clip, Lucky reached in from off camera and put his hand around Smith’s throat, which raised eyebrows across the platform.

Then the TikTok parodies started rolling in.

Lucky Blue chokes Nara Smith on camera

To be clear, the “choking” appeared rather light and didn’t seem to bother Nara Smith much, other than being “distracting.” Lucky did grip hard enough to shake her back and forth a bit, and she smiled through it. The pair followed up with brief clips of Lucky hugging her from behind and lingering in the back.

Advertisement
@naraazizasmith sleep deprivation is setting in🫠 #comfortfood #fypシ #plateup #mukbang #dinner ♬ original sound – Nara Smith

This issue isn’t so much about Smith’s well-being, but just how weirdly sexual this was during a video about a baked potato. If the goal was to boost their view count, it worked spectacularly well.

The video has gained over 28.3 million views on TikTok in less than four days. Initial reactions were all along the lines of “what the [expletive] is going on?”

In Body Image
@cashmoneyashlee/TikTok
Advertisement

Part of what may be going on is the increase in interest around choking and strangulation during sexual activity. A 2021 study found that 26.5 percent of women, 6.6 percent of men, and 22.3 percent of transgender and non-binary people reported engaging in this during their most recent sexy times.

This is where we post a big flashing disclaimer about choking and safety. It’s so dangerous that some experts say there’s simply no safe way to do it. The enhanced pleasure is literally caused by oxygen deprivation in the brain.

TikTok comments including one by Sebastien reading 'what is going on'
@naraazizasmith/TikTok

Regardless of risks, the video gained so much reach that fellow TikTok star Sebastien was in the comments asking, “what is going on.”

Advertisement

“POV: Nara Smith pops up on your FYP”

As Smith’s video went viral, parodies became inevitable. Sebastien himself got in on the trend, gaining over 20 million views, so he might not be all that concerned. He also tagged Smith to apologize.

@ayesebastien I’m so sorry @Nara Smith ♬ original sound – Sebastien

The more parody videos that appeared, the kinkier they got. TikToker @vanessaelifestyle was by herself miming full humping with Lucky as she tried to make a piece of toast.

Advertisement
TikTok video of a woman holding a white plate with a piece of toast on it while choking herself. The caption reads ''POV: Nara Smith pops up on your fyp'
@vanessaelifestyle/TikTok

“POV: Nara Smith pops up on your fyp,” the video caption reads.

Meanwhile, @smartcoreai did a side-by-side comparison, even dressing up as Smith. The final third of her video is blank, implying that the randy couple couldn’t finish thanks to her boyfriend’s advances.

TikTok side-by-side video parodying the Nara Smith choking post.
@smartcoreai/TikTok
Advertisement

My personal favorite is the one by @stinkyasher and his man. This one gets really weird and involves shenanigans with increasingly large houseplants.

“We’re not even exaggerating this time,” Asher claimed.

@stinkyasher

We’re not even exaggerating this time😭

♬ Autumn Leaves – Timothy Cole

Please exercise caution even if making a parody video. Asher found out in the first take just how much choking hurts.

Advertisement


The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.

Advertisement