Despite prohibiting adult content and routinely kicking sex workers off the platform, one of TikTok’s most popular sounds right now is straight out of a porno. I mean that literally — it’s a clip pulled directly from a recent porn scene called “Bi-Ceps,” from the bisexual-centric porn studio BiPhoria, starring Liv Revamped, Johnny B and Johnny Hill. The original clip features a lanky-looking guy saying, “Honestly, you’re so hot,” to Revamped, to which she replies, “Aren’t you gay?”
“Yeah, but I’m also bi,” he responds.
The video, posted on TikTok on January 22nd by someone unaffiliated with the scene, now has over 100,000 views and has spawned hundreds of videos utilizing the sound. Predominantly, the videos using it are jokes from bisexual people about trying to flirt.
The woman from the film, Liv Revamped, recently came across the video, and was shocked to hear her own voice cooing through the speakers. Amused, she commented on the original post saying, “This is literally me… no, like I’m Liv Revamped. This is my scene.”
While her comment is pinned to the top of the comments to help give her credit, the original poster — for whatever reason — appears to be trying to deflect attention away from the fact that it’s from porn. “Is this actually corn [the TikTok-friendly slang for porn]? Cause it looks borderline like a skit,” one person asked. “This is a skit from YouTube,” the poster replied.
Perhaps in light of this, Revamped says she hasn’t received any newfound attention from its virality. “It’s been strange hearing my voice on repeat for different videos, but I appreciate the creative way people are using it to describe and explore their sexualities,” she tells me. “It hasn’t really affected my work, though. I wish it did, but I’ve gotten no attention from it. I’ve tried!”
Revamped has even made TikToks using the sound herself, but she’s had difficulty drawing viewers in. This, unfortunately, falls in line with her experiences as a porn star on the app. “TikTok is a bit hypocritical sometimes,” she says. “My content gets limited just because of my job. Meanwhile, someone else is going viral because of the work I created. I have to accept the fact that sometimes, the internet has no rhyme or reason. Maybe I’ll go viral again another time.”
Sex workers aren’t the only marginalized group to set trends on TikTok and not get credit for it. Last June, Black creators known for creating viral dances went on “strike,” refusing to make new content that would likely be adopted by famous white creators without giving the originators credit. Similarly, in 2019, TikTok admitted to suppressing content from queer and disabled creators, too.
Still, this certainly isn’t the first time sex-worker content has gone viral on the app. OnlyFans models like Mary Burke and Allie Luna have each previously managed to pivot TikTok fame into an increased subscriber count, raking in thousands as a result. Considering Revamped has starred in over 300 adult films, there’s ample opportunity for one of her other scenes to garner attention on TikTok in the future.
But if/when that happens, hopefully she’ll be able to reap some of the benefits, too.
Magdalene Taylor
Magdalene Taylor is a staff writer at MEL. She covers internet culture, sex and the online adult industry. She lives in Brooklyn but is from God's Country, Western Massachusetts.
