There are two types of people in this world – those who have suffered through Trisha Paytas’ annual King Tut celebration and those who remained blissfully unaware – until now. We’ll never know what prompted Trisha to pick up the golden helmet and iconic bling brush back on August 27th 2020, we can probably thank Covid-induced delulu for this one. But for whatever wacky reason, Trisha’s King Tut dance is clearly here to stay.
So, here’s a full explainer of Trisha Paytas and her King Tut celebration and what it actually means, for those who aren’t as deep in this Trisha P lore.
Trisha first uploaded a dance to the ‘King Tut’ audio on TikTok back in 2020
@trishlikefish88 #euphoric will prob delete. Prob offensive
♬ King Tut (45 Version) – Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons
I don’t think anyone really knows what possessed her to start this niche annual tradition, but Trisha stumbled upon the King Tut audio back in August 2020 and used Steve Martin for inspiration to create her own dance to it. Lip synching to the song King Tut, the tune was originally performed by Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons about the Egyptian pharaohTutankhamunand the Treasures ofTutankhamun.
Trisha said on TikTok: “So I pretty much own this sound like we all know, however if you look [at the original sound on TikTok], there is an originator, there is someone who created this song. You may know him by the name of Steve Martin.”
Dressed in an Egyptian style costume, complete with a gold metallic helmet, she somehow blew us all away with her very mediocre dance and lip synching combo. After uploading the video to TikTok, she was immediately hailed for her performance, all thanks to Gen Z, who lapped it up.
She recreates the video every year on ‘King Tut Day’
@trishlikefish88 #duet with @trishapaytas #Duet #euphoric Prob offensive. prob delete later
♬ King Tut (45 Version) – Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons
After the original went viral, of course Trisha came back for round two in 2021, and every year since, apart from 2023. The videos are all virtually the exact same, apart from one year when Trisha ends the video by caressing her pregnant belly as she was eight months old when on King Tut Day 2022.
Technically, King Tut day is actually on November 4th and celebrates the day that King Tut’s tomb was discovered in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings by a British archaeologist, back in 1922. So ignoring the fact that she’s created a second King Tut day, Trisha slaps the helmet and $39 dollar halloween costume back on every August and recreates the dance, duetting each video from the past year. We now have a chain of four King Tut dances from Trisha, as she unfortunately missed out last year.
The iconic ‘#Duet#euphoric Prob offensive. prob delete later’ caption
Not only is the video frame for frame the same each year, but the caption is carried over too. Trisha captioned the 2020 video as “#euphoric Prob offensive. prob delete later”, a caption which has only added to the iconic history of the video.
Trisha recently clarified how “#euphoric” actually referred to the filter she used in the first video, a TikTok filter which doesn’t exist anymore, but is an integral cog to the success of the trend and so which is carried over into the caption box each year. So integral in fact, that she recreated the effect of the filter herself with make up this year.
Even her daughters have been roped into the dance
@trishlikefish88 Alot has happened in 4 years #happykingtutday
♬ King Tut (45 Version) – Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons
It is SO Trisha to go out and buy both of her kids matching Egyptian costumes – I’m not even shocked. To celebrate King Tut Day, Trisha roped into her kids, Malibu Barbie Paytas-Hacmon (known to Gen Z as Queen Elizabeth II) and Elvis Paytas-Hacmon, to celebrate the day. Captioning the video of her dancing with them both to the King Tut song, she wrote: “A lot has happened in four years #happykingtutday”.
One person who couldn’t believe how quickly time has passed since her first pregnancy wrote: “Since when does she have two kids, I thought her first one was born like half a year ago”, whilst another was particularly starstruck by Trisha’s oldest child, Malibu, writing: “Queen Elizabeth in the back”.
Trisha thanked Gen Z for seeing ‘the vision’
Explaining it all on TikTok, Trisha wished everyone a “happy king Tut Day to all those who celebrate” and thanked Gen Z for recognising the masterpiece for what it is – legendary. Breaking down each individual element of what makes this such a special day, she said: “Gen Z will have you believe that August 27th 2020 is the day that history was made by me, @trishlikefish88 here on TikTok.”
Referring to the first video she posted back in 2020, Trisha admitted that she didn’t make it the lore that it is today, but it was actually Gen Z who “saw the vision”.
She said: “Whilst I watched it and appreciated it for what it was, I couldn’t see the vision. However, Gen Z, you see the vision. And it all starts with this gold helmet, this euphoric filter thats no longer a filter, and a $39 halloween costume from Halloween Spirit. And of course who could forget the iconic bling brush.
“So thats a little history, it’s important to know where we come from and where these creations begin and give credit where credit is due. Steve Martin, I love you.”
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Featured image via TikTok @trishlikefish88
