Clairo Shade: A TikTok Phenomenon
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, ‘Clairo shade’ is a popular joke trending on Twitter and TikTok where people take any given event and distort it to be about Clairo, an American singer-songwriter. By now, you might have wondered if these users have something personal against her. But, in truth, their ridiculous claims are just parodies of overzealous stan culture.
Fans of other musicians have made a habit of manipulating major headlines and pop culture events into supposed shade directed towards Clairo. They write, ‘Does anyone else feel like this is Clairo shade?’ followed by confusing, often nonsensical reasoning to link the event back to Clairo. For instance, following actress Chappell Roan’s video about the mistreatment that came with fame, someone posted: “Definitely Clairo shade — she’s basically saying she’d have fewer fans if she was me, Clairo.”
The Clairo Shade meme pokes fun at the extreme dedication shown by enthusiasts on social media, primarily visible in the Timothée Chalamet stan account ‘Club Chalamet.’ Unfortunately for Clairo, she doesn’t boast her own aggressive fanbase similar to popular fan groups like the ‘Swifties’ or ‘Beyhive,’ which adds to the amusement value.
Some Clairo followers, however, are attempting to make sense of this meme by encouraging music enthusiasts to stream her songs. One post noted, “Clairo Shade all you want, but won’t streaming my music be something at least?” Another user aptly commented, “The concept of Clairo Shade being more popular than my recent album IS Clairo shade.”
The meme was documented to have originated from a nonsensical Twitter post on July 10. Katy Perry’s album covers triggered user ‘And Die, Clairo’, claiming that it correlates with the Latin alphabet code (“A,” “D,” “C”).
Early on in her career, allegations surrounded Clairo’s ‘nepo baby’ status, which seemed unfair, given her passion and dedication to music. The Clairo shade phenomenon is a nod to fan devotion, albeit in an unintentional way.
For the meantime, those searching for shade could focus on the humor in an overwhelming, ‘Clairo, clairo, clairo’.
Word Count: 400+
