Hear me out: Shrek is hot. Even if you don’t see the fictional ogre’s, ahem, appeal, you’ve likely had a controversial crush in your day. And now, there’s a TikTok trend for you to profess that love.

ICYMI, the ~hear me out~ cake trend (also known as the “smash cake trend” or “smash or pass cake trend”) is inspiring users to proclaim their romantic fixations—for celebs, TV/movie/book characters, and everything in-between—by topping actual cakes with popsicle stick cutouts of said crushes. And while some are your run-of-the-mill Hollywood hotties (like a young Leonardo DiCaprio) others are slightly more…unhinged.

“It is people they think are hot but it’s unconventional/embarrassing,” one person explained on Reddit. “Like when introducing your celebrity/fictional crush to someone and you go ‘hear me out… but this person.'”

Case in point:

Girlies on the internet are foaming at the mouth over Homer from The Simpsons, Ben Stiller’s character in Night at the Museum, and Garfield the cat. And while may surprising for some, others are finally feeling seen. “JAKE SULLY IS SO REAL🤭” one person wrote, “THESE ARE SO VALID THO?” another person added. “OMGGG THE RAT FROM FLUSHED AWAY IS SO REAL IM HEARING YALL OUT🙏🏽” a user said.

Other TikTokers professed their crushes for Woody from Toy Story, Sirius Black, Fred from Scooby Doo, and Mr. Potato Head—and validated their peers in the comment section.

“Bro mr mosby took me all the way out,” a user wrote, while another chimed in, “I can match the Handy Manny energy with Bob the Builder 😭.”

Others said: “I used to love bear in the big blue house! Good choices,” and “I’m SO for cat in the hat.”

It’s not the first time TikTok users have gotten vulnerable on the internet either. Just earlier this year, Candy Salad trauma dump—where they toss their favorite sweets into a bowl and admit something traumatic from their lives—went viral. Some were lighthearted and fun, while others exposed legit deep dark secrets. Moral of the story? People love to an excuse to eat dessert and overshare on social media. It’s pretty therapeutic, if you ask us.

Headshot of Megan Schaltegger

Megan Schaltegger is an NYC-based writer. She loves strong coffee, eating her way through the Manhattan food scene, and her dog, Murray. She promises not to talk about herself in third person IRL.


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