What is White Man Did It In One Week?

A viral TikTok audio and catchphrase from a 2022 rant by Dr. Umar Johnson about hiring a white HVAC installer who finished the job in one week after a Black installer took three and a half years.

Where did White Man Did It In One Week come from?

TikToker @atomicwingss and YouTuber Reggie Man uploaded the Dr. Umar Johnson clip on September 12, 2022.

What does White Man Did It In One Week mean?

In Johnson's original delivery, the line vents frustration with service workers he had hired. In meme form, creators use it as a punchline for any long-wait situation that resolves quickly or absurdly, like a Nikocado Avocado weight loss photo.

How do you use White Man Did It In One Week?

Creators sync the audio to lip dub skits or image slideshows where a visual payoff hits on the third repetition of the phrase, like @rat_boy_enthusiast's Super Mario Bros. Movie slideshow.

Is White Man Did It In One Week still popular?

The audio saw its biggest spike through TikTok lip dubs in late 2022 and early 2023, with Twitter use extending into May 2023.

White Man Did It In One Week

2022catchphrasedeclining

Published October 22, 2026

Dr. Umar Johnson's September 2022 rant about waiting three and a half years for a Black HVAC installer before a white installer finished the job in one week turned into a viral TikTok sound. By early 2023, the audio powered lip dub skits and slideshow edits set to images from The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Avatar.

tiktok sound trends lip sync memes catchphrase memes slideshow memes frustration memes

Overview

White Man Did It In One Week works as both a TikTok audio and a standalone caption. The sound features Johnson repeating 'I waited three and a half years, white man did it in one week' three times with mounting exasperation1. Creators sync it to any setup involving a long wait followed by a quick resolution, or use it ironically over visuals that have nothing to do with service workers. The punchline typically lands on the third repetition, so most edits time their visual payoff to that beat.

Beyond lip dubs, the line works as a Twitter caption on before-and-after images where a long-delayed transformation finally happens, including a widely shared post about Nikocado Avocado's weight loss3. Johnson's deadpan, repeated delivery gives the audio its character and keeps the format usable for both earnest venting and absurd non sequitur.

Origin & Background

Platform

TikTok / YouTube (origin), TikTok (viral spread)

Date

2022

On September 12, 2022, TikToker @atomicwingss uploaded a clip of Dr. Umar Johnson, a controversial motivational speaker, venting about his HVAC situation2. YouTuber Reggie Man uploaded the same footage that day1. Johnson said it hurt his heart that he could not find a Black HVAC installer with 'character and integrity' who would not overcharge him, repeating the three-and-a-half-years-to-one-week comparison three times during the segment4. The reuploads do not identify where the footage first appeared, and the TikTok version reached over 964,000 views within a year4.

TikTok

How It Spread

Lip dub videos started appearing within weeks of the original upload. On September 23, 2022, TikToker @ilovewomen1436 posted a skit set to the audio that gathered over one million views in eight months5. A month later on October 28, @will__the__great posted another skit using the sound, reaching over 1.4 million views in seven months6.

Slideshow edits took the format further. @tyahnnahl posted an Avatar-themed slideshow on December 29, 2022, which reached over 3.5 million views in five months7. On April 3, 2023, @rat_boy_enthusiast posted a slideshow using screenshots from The Super Mario Bros. Movie that drew over 3.5 million views within a month8.

White Man Did It In One Week moved past TikTok that spring. Twitter user @misoforko captioned a Nikocado Avocado weight loss image with the line on April 30, 20233. Days later on May 4, TikToker @esmesalzman applied the audio to the WMAF trope and collected over 1.2 million views in five days9.

Timeline

2022-09-12

TikToker @atomicwingss and YouTuber Reggie Man upload the Dr. Umar Johnson HVAC clip.

2022-09-23

TikToker @ilovewomen1436 posts the first widely circulated lip dub skit.

2022-10-28

TikToker @will__the__great posts a lip dub skit that reaches 1.4 million views.

2022-12-29

TikToker @tyahnnahl posts an Avatar slideshow edit set to the audio.

2023-04-03

TikToker @rat_boy_enthusiast posts a Super Mario Bros. Movie slideshow using the audio.

2023-04-30