Darius (TikTok)

Submission 6,673

Part of a series on Special Needs TikTok Parents. [View Related Entries]

About

King Darius is an autistic 17-year-old on TikTok (@irisa_darius) whose mother, Irisa, makes TikToks with him in which they're dancing, playing or singing. Many TikTokers are supportive of Darius and stan him, making content about him through fan edits. One video in particular of Daris "stimming" in his mother's closet was remixed into songs, hip-hop beats and electronic music in mid-2022. Many fans also reference Daris' favorite meal of 2 Chickens, 2 Bagels and Tater Tots. Irisa and Darius started posting content in early 2020.

Online History

The first, still accessible TikTok^[1] video on Irisa and Darius' account was uploaded on April 2nd, 2020, earning roughly 40,200 plays and 3,300 likes over the course of two years (shown below). Most likely, after the aforementioned video received viral engagement, Irisa deleted the account's previous content.

Throughout the remainder of 2020 and going into 2021, King Darius' account received minimal engagement with most videos earning under 1,000 plays. An exception was a TikTok^[2] uploaded on May 25th, 2021, gaining roughly 36,100 plays and 5,000 likes in one year. On August 3rd, 2021, a TikTok^[3] video received roughly 565,100 plays and 5,000 likes in one year.

By mid-2022, Darius' TikTok videos received upwards of 1,000 views, predominantly spiking in June 2022 following a series of videos of 17-year-old Darius at his first high school prom. For instance, on June 3rd, 2022, a TikTok^[4] video of Darius at prom eating food while sitting on the DJ's speaker received roughly 238,100 plays and 27,300 likes in two months (shown below, left). On June 5th, 2022, a TikTok^[5] video of Darius walking into prom received roughly 223,200 plays and 26,000 likes in the same time period (shown below, right).

Following these prom videos, a broader awareness of Darius manifested outside of Special Needs TikTok circles of parents. For instance, on June 5th, 2022, TikToker nothamadeba left a comment on Darius' video^[5] that read, "Did bro just put up the middle finger 💀," earning over 1,000 likes in two months.

Darius Stimming In Closet And Remixes

On June 25th, 2022, Irisa posted a TikTok^[6] of Darius making noises while swimming in their pool, earning roughly 1.8 million plays and 203,600 likes in two months (shown below, left). From this TikTok, users on the platform became aware of Darius' "stimming" which is a medical term for involuntary, ritualistic movements, such as sounds, that autistic individuals do.^[7]

On July 23rd, 2022, Irisa posted a TikTok^[8] of Darius stimming in her closet in which he's making melodic noises. Over the course of one month, the video received roughly 14.1 million plays and 1.9 million likes (shown below, right).

On July 24th, 2022, TikToker^[9] thiccdaddyq posted a duet with Darius stimming, writing in text overlay, "Darius and I just Vibin in his mom's closet and not responding to a thing she says," and earning roughly 570,400 plays and 50,700 likes in one month (shown below, left). On July 26th, 2022, TikToker^[10] valentin0__ created a hip-hop beat that sampled Darius stimming in the closet. Over the course of one month, the video received roughly 12.6 million plays and 2 million likes (shown below, right).

Other than remixes, Darius' closet video inspired use of the melodic, stimming sound^[11] by creators who likened it to other noises and scenarios. For instance, on July 31st, 2022, TikToker^[12] yxngfish used the sound to represent a firetruck's siren, earning roughly 358,500 plays and 50,200 likes in one month (shown below, left). On August 3rd, 2022, TikToker^[13] mfjack3 used the sound to show-off his room's crawlspace, claiming that he found Darius in there. The video received roughly 2.6 million plays and 285,500 likes in three weeks (shown below, right).

Darius Stan Content

After Darius' mid-2022 virality, fan edits and stan content appeared en masse on TikTok. On August 6th, 2022, TikToker^[14] 0ntop._ posted a Sigma Male style edit of Darius, earning roughly 239,300 plays and 22,600 likes in three weeks (shown below, left). On August 18th, 2022, TikToker^[15] luke_the_juke2 compared Darius to a _ Rumbleverse_ skin, earning roughly 2.4 million plays and 293,100 likes in one week (shown below, right).

2 Chickens, 2 Bagels, Tater Tots

Fans of Darius became aware that his favorite meal was 2 chicken patties on 2 bagels (or English muffins) with a side of tater tots. On June 28th, 2022, Irisa posted a TikTok^[16] video of Darius with the meal, earning roughly 93,600 plays and 5,600 likes in two months. On July 28th, 2022, Irisa posted a TIkTok^[17] of Darius saying the words, earning roughly 1.1 million plays and 130,200 likes in one month (shown below, left).

Inspired by Darius saying the phrase and other videos^[18] of him eating the meal that were uploaded in mid-2022, fans of Darius started referencing the 2 chickens, 2 bagels and tater tots in their stan edits. For instance, on August 6th, 2022, TikToker^[19] gaveustds showed Darius eating the meal in a Kumalala vs. Savesta style battle video, earning roughly 302,600 plays and 29,600 likes in three weeks (shown below, right).