Move over, Fiji Water Girl. The world has someone new to obsess over. Even though Sammie Lewis wasn’t promoting any sort of actual tea, she definitely has some in her TikTok video.
Lewis likely didn’t mean to go viral with her video, titled “☕️ tea 4 u.” It wasn’t necessarily about the story she told, which was about a guy who’s following her online. Instead, it was her pretty genius (and amazingly obnoxious) tap to the camera and pronunciation.
Unfamiliar with tea? You probably know it best as a caffeinated (or decaffeinated) beverage that can be sold in many forms. But thanks to the internet, “tea” has pretty much become synonymous with “gossip.” So, spilling the tea is more or less giving out some juicy information.
It just so happens that Lewis was drinking a tea from Starbucks at the time. But the move, according to an interview with Buzzfeed, was one she didn’t think would get so many clicks.
“The video blew up on TikTok so I just kept making more,” she said.
For an 18-year-old like Lewis, you can imagine viral success is both a blessing and a curse. When you have one viral sensation, you need to follow it up. But, what happens from there?
Here’s the original video, so you can see the move everyone’s talking about.
Long story short, the guy already has her number and Snapchat after asking her. She felt a bit enraged and chose to channel it into a video.
Of course, when something is overexposed, sometimes people get a little tired of it. Even though most people think the MFing Tea Girl is pretty cute, some TikTok fans have watched the video too much.
Her second video was all about her glasses. It included more tea and just a bit more emphasis on her new catchphrase.
Of course, parodies came out. This one is one of the most popular, as it uses straws to mimic Lewis’s famous fingernails.
Most contain samples of her audio, which is another reason why people have gone through “MFing Tea” overload. But, she didn’t ask for this. She was just a girl trying to tell a story.
Here’s ... the motherfuckin.... tea . Lol i love TikTok
— K͓̽e͓̽l͓̽l͓̽y͓̽🖤 (@Rastainurbrain) April 4, 2019
And, the original is pretty cute. It’s obvious Lewis has a great sense of humor.
Buzzfeed asked her if the parodies bothered her, but she seemed to have a level head about it. She knew that putting anything on the internet would come with risks.
honestly i’m thriving
— sammie (@sammielewiss) March 28, 2019
“It doesn’t bother me at all,” she said. “I think it’s really funny when people go ahead and make their own content, so why would I bash on someone who’s also trying to be funny and make a joke?”
She’s also built quite a nice following on Instagram, with over 36,000 followers. Not bad for a girl with a catchphrase.
She also started up a YouTube channel, where she treated her fans to a Q&A. “I guess it is really cheesy for my first YouTube video,” she admits in the debut video.
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX9CFFO_hvg"]Her favorite friends include Friends and The Office. And like all of us, she’s a big fan of Target.
At the end of March, she also treated fans to a makeup tutorial. ” I don’t consider myself a beauty guru in any way, this is just how I do my own makeup,” she wrote. “I hope you guys like it.”
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nQSvyMLY5k"]But of course, most of her comments had to deal with…. you guessed it. The MFing tea.
One of the things that’s different about Lewis is that it’s kind of rare for someone to start up a YouTube channel now. She’s got a lot of competition ahead if she wants to remain a viral star. Fingers crossed she finds a niche that isn’t just gossip.
It’s also interesting to figure out if the guy she mentioned in the first video ever got back to her. Does he have any idea how their one interaction changed up the whole game for Lewis?
No matter what, here’s the tea on Lewis — she’s an up-and-comer who has a pretty awesome new addition to her resume. She penned a phrase that people can’t stop talking about.
