Frank Heffley Schizophrenia

Submission 2,331

Part of a series on Diary of a Wimpy Kid. [View Related Entries]

About

Frank Heffley Schizophrenia refers to a series of schizoposting videos, edits and a theory about the dad character in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Frank Heffley (played by actor Steve Zahn), being schizophrenic. Alternatively, the memes attested that Frank Heffley was a psychopath, evil or a serial killer. The "schizo" edits surfaced en masse on TikTok in March 2025. They were mostly grainy, black-and-white and abstract, mirroring creepypasta, brainrot and lobotomy aesthetics. The Frank Heffley schizo posts were notably compared to SueTok videos, which similarly devolved clips of The Middle character Sue Heck.

Origin

On November 3rd, 2023, TikToker^[6] @ledge0679 posted a scene from the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie in which Frank Heffley, played by actor Steve Zahn, is at a school musical and talks to no one sitting next to him. The video was captioned, "Me at the show with my family but I had to take my schizophrenia medication halfway through," gaining over 11,000 likes in two years (shown below). The video is currently the first known meme about Frank Heffley being schizophrenic.

On March 6th, 2025, TikToker^[1] @spookiedookieson posted an edit of Frank Heffley, portrayed as scary and creepy. The grainy black-and-white video was tagged "#horrortok," among others. It started with a clip of Heffley shouting, "I know that door had a lock on it!" Over 11 days, the video received roughly 1.6 million plays and 318,400 likes (shown below). The video jumpstarted a series of Frank Heffley Schizophrenia edits and memes shortly after.

Precursor

Frank Heffley edits of varying genres surfaced on TikTok in the early 2020s. For instance, on August 1st, 2022, TikToker^[2] @gaberoyale_ posted an edit of the character that received over 34,400 likes in three years.

On October 29th, 2023, TikToker^[3] @frankfuckingheffley began posting Fiber Optic Cable Core edits that centered on Frank Heffley, with the first one amassing over 283,000 likes in two years (shown below).

On October 19th, 2024, TikToker^[4] @igotshitposts posted a Diary of a Wimpy Kid scene in which Frank Heffley says, "Hey Rowley, what's new?" and lightly slaps him with a newspaper, making Rowley cry. The caption read, "Me when Frank Heffley taps me (my ribcage is shattered)," gaining over 129,100 likes in five months (shown below).

All of the abovementioned videos predate the original Frank Heffley Schizophrenia edit by TikToker^[1] @spookiedookieson and likely inspired the 2025 trend.

Spread

Heading into March 2025, many TikTokers shared Frank Heffley Schizophrenia edits. For instance, on March 8th, TikToker^[5] @bxn404 posted an iteration using several clips of the character, gaining over 213,500 likes in nine days (shown below).

On March 14th, 2025, TikToker^[7] @georgefatty222 posted a Frank Heffley Schizophrenia edit, amassing over 106,200 likes in three days (shown below).

On March 16th, TikToker^[8] @deludedg1rl posted a Talking to Brick Wall meme in a photo slideshow about talking to a friend who's not on the Frank Heffley Schizophrenia side of TikTok, gaining over 192,700 likes in a day (shown below).

Also on March 16th, 2025, TikToker^[9] @xgirlsinspo posted a photo, attesting that the March 2025 Meme Drought was over because of "Frank Heffley's schizophrenia," gaining over 61,300 likes in a day (shown below).