Devious Lick

2021Social media challenge / video trenddead

Published March 10, 2026 · Updated March 17, 2026

Also known as: Diabolical Lick · Dastardly Lick · Nefarious Lick

Devious Lick is a viral TikTok trend from September 2021 where students filmed themselves stealing or vandalizing items from their schools, typically bathrooms, and showed off the stolen goods by pulling them from backpacks. The trend led to real-world consequences including student arrests, school bathroom closures, and a platform-wide ban from TikTok, making it one of the most disruptive social media challenges to hit American schools.

challenge memestiktok sound trendsdangerous challenge memesmoral panic memesparticipatory video memes

Overview

The Devious Lick trend followed a simple formula: a student unzips their backpack on camera and reveals a stolen school item, usually something bolted down like a soap dispenser, hand sanitizer station, or bathroom fixture. The reveal videos used a sped-up version of Lil B's "Ski Ski BasedGod" as background music3. Captions swapped "devious" for increasingly dramatic synonyms like "diabolical," "godforsaken," or "nefarious," played for comedic effect2. The word "lick" is slang for a successful theft1.

What made the trend distinctive was the escalation. Early videos showed minor items like masks or soap dispensers, but within days students were posting footage of stolen microscopes, computers, exit signs, and even ripped-out sinks and urinals3. The humor came from the absurdity of the stolen objects and the deadpan presentation.

Origin & Background

Platform
TikTok
Key People
@jugg4elias, @dtx.2cent
Date
2021

On September 1, 2021, TikTok user @jugg4elias posted a video pulling a box of disposable masks from his backpack with the caption "a month into school absolutely devious lick"2. The video picked up around 239,000 views in its first week2. At the time, most U.S. students were returning to full-time in-person classes for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began1.

The trend exploded five days later. On September 6, TikToker @dtx.2cent posted a video with on-screen text reading "only a month into school and got this absolute devious lick" while pulling a hand sanitizer dispenser from his backpack2. That video racked up over 7.2 million views in just two days, turning a niche joke into a nationwide trend2.

How It Spread

The day after @dtx.2cent's viral post, TikTok was flooded with imitations. On September 7, @mr.epicsinger duetted the original video showing off a microscope (2.3 million views in a day), @carlorossi0 pulled a computer from a backpack (3 million views), and @kcartier00 revealed stolen school signage (2.6 million views)2. Another user posted footage of a piece of movie theater wall taken after a screening of Shang-Chi, racking up 260,000 views2.

The stolen items got increasingly absurd. Students posted videos featuring ripped-out urinals, sinks, mirrors, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, interactive whiteboards, and exit signs3. In British Columbia, students tore out 42 soap dispensers from school bathrooms in a single week3. Schools across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Germany reported incidents tied to the trend3.

Schools responded with force. Lawrence High School in Kansas sealed off several bathrooms after students pried soap dispensers from walls, then had to post staff as guards when students tried to steal the "closed" signs too1. Fairfax County, Virginia schools confirmed disciplinary action was taken over multiple incidents1. Schools warned parents that students faced suspension, restitution payments, and potential criminal charges1. Some officials also pointed out that self-incriminating TikTok videos could damage students' future job prospects1.

Law enforcement got involved quickly. In Bartow, Florida, police arrested a 15-year-old who ripped a soap dispenser off the wall. "He said he did it because of this TikTok challenge and he wanted to be cool," police chief Bryan Dorman said1. In Boone County, Kentucky, eight students were charged, split evenly between theft and vandalism3. A student in Stafford County, Virginia was charged for vandalizing a park bathroom near his school, and a 15-year-old in Mohave County, Arizona was arrested for stealing a toilet paper dispenser3.

TikTok removed the original video on September 13 and began pulling related content3. On September 15, the platform banned the trend entirely for violating community guidelines against illegal activities3. By that point, the "devious" hashtag had amassed over 235 million views3. Hashtags and search terms were redirected to a community guidelines error page. "We expect our community to create responsibly, online and IRL," TikTok said1.

Platforms

RedditTwitterTikTokInstagramYouTube
View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

Reference when discussing dangerous TikTok trends or when pointing out that not all viral challenges are harmless.

1

Watch several examples of the Devious Lick trend to understand the format

2

Put your own creative spin on the concept

3

Record or create your version following the general structure

4

Post with the trending hashtag or sound

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The Devious Lick trend drew national media coverage and became a flashpoint for debates about TikTok's influence on teenagers. Multiple news outlets reported on the trend as it spread through schools in September 20212.

One of the more notable media responses came from journalist Brock Colyar at Curbed, who investigated three supposedly real "devious lick" videos and found all three were staged. One video showing a student with a "stolen" microscope was actually filmed with a microscope the student already owned at home3. Colyar criticized the media and political response as a moral panic3.

The trend also became a political tool. In March 2022, The Washington Post reported that Meta Platforms had paid Targeted Victory, a Republican-backed consulting firm, to run covert campaigns against TikTok without disclosing Meta's involvement3. The firm's strategy included recruiting local reporters to write stories about TikTok trends like Devious Licks and "Slap a Teacher," and ghostwriting letters to the editor in the voice of concerned parents3.

A similar vandalism trend emerged in May 2025, dubbed the "Chromebook Challenge," which involved students inserting conductive materials like pencil leads into the USB ports of school-issued Chromebooks to start fires3.

Fun Facts

The 17-year-old student Cuyler Dunn at Lawrence High School in Kansas described the school's response as futile, noting students even tried to steal the "closed" signs posted on damaged bathrooms1.

The background music for most Devious Lick videos was a sped-up version of Lil B's "Ski Ski BasedGod"3.

Some schools reported students stealing turf from rival schools' sports fields as part of the trend1.

TikTok's ban came just two weeks after the trend started, but by then the hashtag had already hit 235 million views3.

Derivatives & Variations

Other Destructive Challenges

A variation of Devious Lick

(2021)

School-based Pranks

A variation of Devious Lick

(2021)

Frequently Asked Questions