The TikTok coconut challenge is probably not what you think it is. No actual coconuts are involved—though there are a few variants out there, albeit ones without much traction, that do use coconut
As far as the TikTok coconut challenge that is best known, rapper Cardi B is to blame.
What is the TikTok coconut challenge Cardi B’s responsible for?
On January 25, 2023, a video on the @bardi_song TikTok account showed Cardi B shocked by something that “WAP” collaborator Megan Thee Stallion allegedly promised.
She proclaimed, “This bitch Megan said she gon’ do the Coconut Challenge on the D.”
@bardi_song Coconut 🥥 challenge ‼️ #coconut #challenge #nasty #wait #repost ♬ son original – Bardi_song
Then, after dramatically falling backward, Cardi screams, “This b*tch is nasty! You nasty b*tch!”
However, online origins of the coconut challenge date back a few years: To 2019, when South African Twitter user Daniel Marven suggested, “Writing ‘COCONUT’ using your waist is the trick to master women on top!! Thank me later ladies!”
While that tweet didn’t get much engagement, what few sources there were covered both sides of the coin, with one declaring, “I just attempted it. [You] are right,” and another worrying, “Don’t try that on me. Shit sounds like it can break a dick.”
Another TikToker, Yanna the Mom (@itss_yannathemom2.0), shared, “Don’t worry, y’all, I Googled the directions,” showing how it might be possible to execute the spelling.
@itss_yannathemom2.0 Here you go. #yannaafterdark #megantheestallion #FastTwitchContest #fyp ♬ WAP（feat. Megan Thee Stallion） – Cardi B
Can one post the challenge on TikTok?
Of course, posting an actual coconut challenge video would violate TikTok’s policies. As TikTok spelled out in a press release issued Dec. 30, 2022, “We’ve always had strict policies prohibiting nudity, sexual activity, and sexually explicit content, including content that directs to adult websites or apps. Over 40,000 dedicated trust and safety professionals work to develop and enforce these policies and build processes and technologies to detect, remove or restrict violative content at scale.”
Furthermore, TikTok specifies, “We also have policies to make borderline or ‘suggestive’ content ineligible for recommendation into TikTok For You feeds, and we’re sharing some of the ongoing work underway to strengthen our enforcement of these policies. Our goal is to foster an appropriate experience for our community, and minors in particular.”
So people inspired by Cardi B’s popularization of the term created workarounds.
One TikToker Erica Wilemon (@ericawilemon) showed her and a friend attempting the necessary gyrations to achieve the full spelling of the word.
@ericawilemon You can't outsexy this 🤣 #cocunutchallenge #megantheestallion #cardib #QuakerPregrain #ReadySetLift #fypシ #fyp @lacann04 #CapCut ♬ son original – Bardi_song
Creator Mami Onami, whose bio claims “I teach spiritual entrepreneurs a system that makes them scary good at business,” made a TikTok in which she suggests spelling coconut “in cursive.”
@mami.onami Usually when I make dance vids the algo just asks me why #spicytip #justthetip #mamiknowsbest ♬ Collide (more sped up) – Justine Skye
Another couple, back in 2021, used a #coconutchallenge hashtag to try to replicate an actual challenge with a coconut as depicted by Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler in the 2011 movie Just Go With It.
@therileys07 couples challenge coconut smoochie #coupleschallenge #coconutchallenge #coconutsmoochie @adamsandleroficial @fakeadamsandler ♬ Theme from "Rocky III" (Eye of the Tiger) – APM Music
And for a coconut challenge that might come in handy if you find yourself on a deserted island, TikToker Daisy Campbell showed off a coconut-cracking hack in 2020 that’s now getting entirely different search traffic.
@daisy_campbell How to crack open a coconut without tools!!!👍🏻#fyp #coconutchallenge #yummm #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Daisy Campbell
But most others are not nearly as SFW.
