Ninja Transforms

About

Ninja Transforms refers to a TikTok video posted by professional Mixer streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins in which he approaches the camera, hides behind a hand mirror and transforms into makeup artist Jeffree Star. Starting in late January 2020, the video gained significant popularity in edits on Instagram, with Ninja transforming into various people, characters and memes.

Origin

On January 30th, 2020, professional streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins posted a "How I Think I Look in the Morning / How I wish I Looked In the Morning" TikTok^[1] video made together with makeup artist Jeffree Star (shown below). The video received over 1.1 million likes and 17,200 comments in two weeks.

Spread

On January 30th, 2020, Instagram^[2] user raeraerandy posted the earliest known meme based on the video, referencing the 2019-20 Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak. The edit received over 101,400 views and 25,700 likes in two weeks (shown below).

On January 31st, Instagram users buzz_lighthole^[3] and notkinghill^[4] posted two more edits based on the video, both based on the Ninja Twerking meme.

Starting in early February 2020, the format gained a significant presence on Instagram, with notable edits posted by maddladdsaddladd,^[5] largetrap,^[6] jeffswiper^[7] and other users.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References