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If you’ve been on TikTok lately, you’ve likely noticed the trend of people commenting chair emojis in popular videos.
But what is the meaning of the chair emoji? Why are people posting chair emojis on TikTok? And what does commenting chair emojis actually mean?
Read on for a quick overview of the Chair Emoji TikTok trend, featuring where to find the original creator, what the exact inside joke is, and the latest developments.
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What Does the Chair Emoji 🪑 Mean on TikTok?
Long story short, the chair emoji is a TikTok inside joke, and it’s meant to represent laughter.
Think of it as a quirky Gen Z alternative to the laughing crying 😂 emoji, which (in case you missed the memo) is apparently super cheugy and outdated now.
Another layer to the inside joke is that the chairs are used in a way to exaggerate laughter too, and make it seem like that particular video is the funniest video the commenters have ever seen.
And while initial Reddit speculation started some rumors that the chair emoji had a NSFW meaning, these theories have largely been debunked, and we can see the chair emoji as really just a wholesome inside joke involving simple wooden chairs.
But where did these TikTok chair emojis come from?
A Brief History of the Chair Emoji Comment Trend on TikTok
Unlike most other TikTok trends which take place in the form of content ideas or sounds, the chair emoji is a rare TikTok trend that takes place primarily in the TikTok comments section.
We can trace this trend back to April, when user @blank.antho (who has over a million followers and regularly creates new ‘inside jokes’ for his audience) posted this video announcing a new inside joke.
In the video, he says:
“Today’s the big day you’ve all been waiting for.
Today’s the day we start the most random inside joke of all time.
So we’re basically just gonna replace the laughing emoji with chair emojis.
We previously Antho’d David Dobrik and many others.
This time we’re gonna chair Daddy Noel himself.”
Based on this video, it seems like the inside joke was originally meant to take hold in the comments section of @noeldeyzel_bodybuilder (AKA Daddy Noel).
But as with many things on TikTok, it’s not super clear why the inside joke randomly began to skyrocket months later in September 2021, but it has firmly become a part of the TikTok landscape after the trend’s creator posted an explanation video that has since racked up millions of views.
In this video (posted on a second account here), the Chair Emoji inside joke creator says:
“If you’re seeing this, you’re a part of the inside joke
The joke is if someone says something funny, instead of using a laughing emoji, just use a chair
And under every post, just pretend like it’s the most hilarious thing you’ve ever seen”
And while the chair emoji comments are clearly picking up momentum on TikTok, it seems the trend may be evolving a bit as time goes on.
In this newer video posted by the trend’s creator, he is encouraging TikTok users to change their profile photos to Obama, an ode to the cardboard cutout of Obama he has in the background of his more popular videos.
Who knows where the chair emoji inside joke will take us next?
KSI & The Chair Emoji
While initial reports about the chair emoji trend linked the trend to British YouTuber KSI, it seems the chair/KSI link is just a coincidence.
We can trace this murky connection back to this video in which KSI does a bit (starting at 4:36) about his contagious laugh, and tests the contagious power of his laugh by laughing at a chair.
Here’s what he says in the video:
“My laugh makes people laugh. Interesting.
I have this great power.
And with great power comes no responsibility.
I am going to be extremely irresponsible with this power
Alright ladies and gentlemen, as you can see – there’s this chair.
Nothing funny about it at all.
Let’s see if this works”
He then proceeds to laugh hysterically at the chair, and it’s this short clip that had viewers certain the trend had something to do with him.
While KSI didn’t create the chair emoji trend, it’s possible that this early connection helped the trend surge in virality in September.
In fact, KSI is now himself part of the joke, having captioned a few videos with a single chair emoji like this one.
Chair Emoji Trend Creator Controversy
Based on our research, the chair emoji inside joke appears to have originated from this April TikTok uploaded by user Anthony Mai, AKA @blank.antho.
But there is drama brewing! According to this TikTok by Mai, there’s a group of other creators trying to take credit for the trend.
What’s TikTok without a bit of drama though?
We hope you enjoyed this guide to the Chair Emoji TikTok Trend!
Be sure to check out our guide to current trends on TikTok for more.