Ben Shapiro RANKS Viral TikTok Trends

Summary of Ben Shapiro RANKS Viral TikTok Trends

by The Daily Wire

14m•March 21, 2026
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Overview of Ben Shapiro RANKS Viral TikTok Trends

Ben Shapiro and producers watch and react to a batch of viral TikTok trends, critiquing humor, safety, cultural content, and watchability. The segment mixes short clips, live commentary, jokes about family/office participation, and two sponsor reads. Ben gives quick takes on each trend and then ranks them in two ways: what’s most watchable and what he’d actually participate in.

Trends reviewed — short descriptions and Ben’s take

  • Owl impressions

    • Clips: people doing one-syllable owl “who” impressions with exaggerated cultural accents (Brooklyn, Jamaican, Indian, Jewish, Miami).
    • Ben: mildly amusing, “points for the classical music,” notes it’s essentially “can you sum up a culture in a syllable?”

  • Tortilla slap challenge

    • Clips: people holding water in their mouths then slapping each other with tortillas.
    • Ben: finds it highly watchable/funny but raises concerns about normalizing hitting people (jokes about HR and hitting political opponents). Wouldn’t do it with his wife; thinks some participants use it to justify slapping men.

  • Rhythm/drum/play-along challenge

    • Clips: participants playing along to a beat or drum cue (Ben references Savvy’s good timing from a prior show).
    • Ben: silly and emblematic of too much free time, but not hated — playable and entertaining.

  • Husbands quizzing wives on athletes

    • Clips: husbands show pics of male athletes; wives guess names (examples: LeBron, Tom Brady, Dale Earnhardt).
    • Ben: finds it fair as an “equal opportunity” gag; shares an anecdote about his wife not knowing Mitt Romney in 2008.

  • Water-in-mouth laughing contest / Mary Poppins challenge

    • Clips: people hold water in their mouths and try not to laugh while showing increasingly absurd objects from bags; likened to “Mary Poppins” for pulling huge items out.
    • Ben: thinks the bigger/stranger the object, the funnier. Calls it inherently funny and would do it.

  • Giant object / “big bait” backpack challenge

    • Clips: especially male participants pulling ridiculously large items (jokes about “Florida crap”); one clip uses incongruent music choices.
    • Ben: dislikes this one’s aesthetic and choices; calls it moronic and potentially hazardous.

  • Ben After Dark / in-house challenge (their own clip)

    • Clips: the crew’s own attempt at a trend (counting bars, timing); multiple takes, eventual success, and reactions from Sadie and others.
    • Ben: embarrassed but amused; notes team diversity joke (“DEI for the win”).

  • Shark / dangerous-incident clip

    • Clips: a violent shark-related video (a man getting eaten after a car wreck referenced).
    • Ben: strongly negative — “hate the shark,” finds it terrible and not entertaining.

Rankings (Ben’s)

  • Most watchable (what he’d enjoy watching)

    1. Tortilla slap
    2. Object challenge (Mary Poppins/big-item reveal)
    3. “Who”/owl impressions
    4. Rhythm/drumming/play-along
    5. “Whitney” (annoying to him)
    6. Shark clip (terrible)

  • What he’d actually do (participate in)

    1. Object challenge (most inherently funny)
    2. “Who” / owl impressions
    3. Rhythm/drumming
    4. Tortilla slap
    5. “Whitney” (no)
    6. Shark (no way)

Notable observations and quotes

  • “It’s basically just can you sum up a culture in a grunt?” — on owl impressions.
  • Raises concerns about the tortilla challenge normalizing hitting: “So this whole thing is predicated on it’s okay to hit people now.”
  • On the object/Mary Poppins challenge: “Anything that you would normally think of that would fit into your backpack… if you took out a lamp and it just kept going, that’d be pretty good.”
  • On TikTok generally: “TikTok is the dumbest place on earth” but admits many trends are “amusing” and that the segment was “less painful than I thought.”

Actionable takeaways

  • If you want quick, safe entertainment on TikTok: try the tortilla videos and the object/Mary Poppins clips (Ben finds these the most watchable).
  • Avoid or be critical of trends that involve real physical harm (tortilla-as-slap raises ethical questions; shark/danger content is distasteful).
  • The simplest trends succeed when they heighten one comedic element (size, timing, or absurdity) rather than trying to “summarize a culture” in a single sound.

Sponsors & promos mentioned

  • Trust & Will — online estate planning; promo: 20% off at trustandwill.com/shapiro.
  • Shopify — commerce platform; promo: $1/month trial at shopify.com/shapiro.
  • Other ad mentions: Nespresso/Virtuo line, PolicyGenius (life-insurance joke), and a local attorney ad (Craig Swapp & Associates).

Summary

The segment is a lighthearted roast-and-rank of popular TikTok stunts. Ben finds several of the trends fun and watchable (especially tortillas and the object-reveal challenge) but criticizes those that promote risky or tasteless content. Overall verdict: TikTok is often silly, occasionally clever, and sometimes worryingly irresponsible — but there are genuinely amusing, low-effort trends worth watching.