If you use Instagram or TikTok, you may have noticed something “very thoughtful and very understated” recently.
It’s all thanks to a Chicago-based TikTok content creator named Jules Lebron.
On August 2, LeBron posted a video titled “How to be discreet at work,” which quickly went viral.
“You know how I look when I come to work? I’m very low-key,” she said in the video. “I’ve got makeup on, a wig, and a few braids.”
She then sprayed herself with perfume in her car, adding, “Very modest. Very mindful. All you divas, remember modesty.”
Over the next few days, she created dozens of now-viral videos showing her “very elegantly” completing everyday tasks like ordering food, getting a manicure, boarding a plane, and applying deodorant.
And from there, the internet started doing the same with the “templates” features on TikTok and Instagram.
It’s unclear how many followers LeBron has gained since the trend went viral, but she said the trend has “changed her life.”
LeBron, who is transgender and uses the pronoun “she”, said in a video to her 1.4 million followers that her newfound fame has helped her cover the remaining costs of her gender transition.
“One day I was working a cash register on my break and filming videos, and now I’m flying all over the country hosting events,” she added.
What does “meek” actually mean?
According to Merriam-Webster, demure is an adjective meaning “pretentious, unassuming, modest, or serious.”
LeBron uses the word “modest” as a term of endearment to describe himself as he goes about his daily business, often adding, “I’m not like you other girls.”
When she says she does something “very unobtrusively,” she often adds other words like “careful” or “pretty” or “caring.”
“Do you see how I do my makeup for work? It’s very subtle, and I’m very mindful of it,” she said in a video posted on August 5. “When I come to work, I don’t look like a clown. I don’t overdo it. I’m very mindful of it when I’m at work.”
Is the “low-key” video serious or a joke?
The entire internet seems to be on board with the joke, from fellow TikTok creators to A-list celebrities like Kim Kardashian, but did this unassuming trend really start out that way in the first place?
LeBron clarified that her video was “obviously” a joke, but not everyone noticed the irony.
She added that the original joke about not showing up to work wearing “green glitter cut crease” makeup was a mockery of something she herself had done.
Whether or not everyone in the comments section got the joke, most of the creators who made their own “low-key” videos are doing it sarcastically, just like LeBron intended.
Some accounts are using the trend to draw attention to serious issues, from voter registration to mental health awareness.
More recently, this trend has spilled over into politics, even affecting the presidential election.
