Crying man covering mouth with 'My Shayla' text and broken heart emoji overlay

My Shayla

2017viral videoresurgent

Published August 15, 2026

My Shayla is a viral TikTok sound and reaction meme built around a 2017 clip of actor Tyrese Gibson tearfully saying 'Oh my god, my Shayla' about his daughter1. The audio blew up on TikTok in December 2024, with creators pairing it with captions about heartbreak, nostalgia, or exaggerated emotional pain3.

tiktok sound trends celebrity reaction memes delayed virality memes audio memes reaction memes

Overview

My Shayla is a reaction meme and TikTok audio pulled from a tearful Instagram video that actor Tyrese Gibson posted in November 2017 about his custody fight over his daughter Shayla1. The specific moment people quote comes near the end of the clip, when Gibson chokes out the line 'Oh my god, my Shayla'2.

Stills of Gibson sobbing with his hand over his mouth first circulated as Crying Tyrese reaction images across Twitter and Reddit throughout the late 2010s2. The audio itself did not go viral until late 2024, when TikTokers started layering the 'My Shayla' line over videos about breakups, family nostalgia, and dramatic mock heartbreak3. Urban Dictionary entries even define 'my shayla' as an affectionate exclamation of pride or tenderness toward someone special4.

Origin & Background

Platform
Instagram (source video) / TikTok (viral spread)
Creator
Tyrese Gibson; @bunionlover47
Date
2017

On November 1st, 2017, Tyrese Gibson posted an emotional Instagram video during his custody battle over his then 10 year old daughter Shayla2. The original upload was later deleted, but a repost by YouTube channel Lailah Lynn Media the same day preserved the footage and racked up more than 34,000 views over the following years2.

At roughly the 2:35 mark of that repost, Gibson breaks down and mutters 'Oh. my god, my Shayla,' the exact fragment that would later become the sound bite driving the TikTok trend2.

How It Spread

Right after the 2017 upload, screencaps of a crying Gibson with the caption 'What more do you want from me?' bounced around Instagram and Reddit as Crying Tyrese image macros2. That first wave stayed in the reaction image lane and did not center the 'My Shayla' line specifically.

The audio revival started on December 9th, 2024, when TikToker @bunionlover47 posted the clipped 'Oh my god, my Shayla' moment over a caption about a boyfriend ignoring her, pulling in more than 450,000 plays and 21,000 likes within a week3. Two days later, TikToker @user35947136 used the same sound to caption old photos of her siblings before they turned into 'grumpy teenagers,' and that video shot past 4.1 million plays and 795,000 likes in five days3.

The trend also dragged the older Crying Tyrese format back into circulation. On December 10th, 2024, TikToker @analgorrilla reposted the 'What more do you want from me?' clip captioned about a single missing assignment tanking a school grade, gathering more than 217,000 plays and 65,000 likes3. By December 16th, 2024, the primary My Shayla TikTok sound had been used in over 4,500 posts3.

How to Use This Meme

The typical My Shayla post uses the 'Oh my god, my Shayla' audio snippet as the soundtrack while text overlay describes something the creator is mock devastated or genuinely emotional about3. Common conventions include pairing it with photos of a loved one, an ex, a pet, or a childhood memory, letting Gibson's real sobbing sell the exaggerated feeling4. Some creators skip the audio and simply write 'my shayla' as a caption to signal affection or pride, echoing the Urban Dictionary usage4.

Frequently Asked Questions