Karma Carr is more than just girl dinner
Chapman’s own Karma Carr is the creator of the viral TikTok sound and trend “girl dinner.” But there is more to her than this jingle: she’s a triple threat. Photos courtesy of Karma Carr, photo collage by EMILY PARIS, Photo Editor
The perfect meal: three frozen chocolate-covered bananas. Or, as Karma Carr likes to call it, “girl dinner.”
If you are a religious TikTok binge-watcher, you may have come across a video in July of a teenage girl holding up an almost entirely eaten chocolate-covered banana, singing, acapella style, the words “girl dinner” in a four-part harmony. The creator of the viral jingle is none other than Chapman’s very own freshman theater performance major Karma Carr.
Like all members of Gen-Z who were born and raised on the internet, their pinky indents and ring lights have been with them since they came out of the womb. Carr was “on Instagram like no other” since the fifth grade, eventually contributing to the dancing and comedy videos on the social media app Musical.ly. As time passed, the app slowly transitioned to TikTok. Sometime last year, she made a silly video wearing black contacts, and the rest is history.
“That was one of my first videos to get traction, and I was like, ‘If people think this is funny, then I could do some other funny stuff.’ And here we are,” Carr said.
While she was initially considering not posting it at all, the girl dinner video has become a worldwide sensation. Nearly half of a million people have made a video using the original sound she created. Girl dinner videos on TikTok have 2.6 billion views in total. Multiple spinoffs, including boy dinner and non-binary dinner, have followed suit. Popeyes even made a “girl dinner” meal on their menu. The New York Times, People, Washington Post and Bon Appétit have all written articles analyzing the trend and its impacts on female viewers.
While the critics' opinions are split on whether “girl dinner” is positive or problematic, fans of Carr and participants in the trend know the positive change it has made.
“I think she’s not afraid to speak on topics that are not easy to talk about,” said Kendyl Brown, Carr’s best friend and a freshman screen acting major at Chapman. “She adds a perspective to the conversation that benefits everyone.”
“I think she’s not afraid to speak on topics that are not easy to talk about. She adds a perspective to the conversation that benefits everyone.”
Disordered eating has long been a struggle for women, especially when comparing themselves to others on the internet 24/7. Carr never expected her video to garner the attention that it did, and she never expected to become a public figure on the internet.
“I feel like the world has become a kinder place since we started accepting (that) being a girl is something to be celebrated and not something to be condemned for,” Carr said. “Over time, I feel like (the girl dinner trend) has created some good positivity for femininity and embracing being a girl in all its weird aspects, including eating.”
“I feel like the world has become a kinder place since we started accepting (that) being a girl is something to be celebrated and not something to be condemned for. Over time, I feel like (the girl dinner trend) has created some good positivity for femininity and embracing being a girl in all its weird aspects, including eating.”
Being a recognizable face on the internet and a woman of color in the entertainment industry doesn’t come without its own struggles. Carr doesn’t think the haters of her bold internet persona are actually hating; she believes they just don't understand and don’t want to learn. But she isn’t waiting on anyone else to make the change. She’s carving her own path forward and inspiring others to do the same.
“It’s a predominantly white male-dominated industry because it was made on a white male framework,” Carr said. “By creating new things, and by taking up the space and existing on social media and inspiring other people, you can make something for yourself. Don’t try to fit into spots that weren’t made for you to fill. Create your own thing that you want to see.”
“By creating new things, and by taking up the space and existing on social media and inspiring other people, you can make something for yourself. Don’t try to fit into spots that weren’t made for you to fill. Create your own thing that you want to see.”
For those who have always wanted to post a comedy or singing video on the internet in the hopes of striking gold but have been too scared to try, Carr has some simple advice.
“Just post it. The longer you wait, the more time you’re wasting not posting it, not following your dreams, and not creating anything for yourself,” Carr said. “You can’t wait for anyone else to drag you out of that hole and make you make yourself something. You have to do it.”
“Just post it. The longer you wait, the more time you’re wasting not posting it, not following your dreams, and not creating anything for yourself. You can’t wait for anyone else to drag you out of that hole and make you make yourself something. You have to do it.””
Carr’s life would look very different now if she had kept the girl dinner video in the drafts. The video has over 20 million views, and her TikTok page has 157.4 million likes. But she doesn’t want to just be known for girl dinner.
As a theater performance student in high school and now as a theater performance major at Chapman, Karma Carr is not new to the spotlight. While you may know her from her trending TikTok sounds and 1.5 million TikTok followers, her most recent stint was as Janet in Chapman’s Rocky Horror Picture Show.
“I saw the audition on a flyer while I was walking around campus, and I was like, ‘I have heard about that musical.’ Let me just audition for ‘funsies,’ and I got the lead role!” Carr said. “It was phenomenal. It was so much fun. The audience's energy was impeccable. We were all singing and dancing and smiling. It was just an amazing, big, communal time.”
After years of singing her original short harmonies on the internet, her debut single, “Keep Up,” is coming out on Nov. 17. Expect more music coming from her soon, as well as many more theatrical performances at Chapman University.