People are licking toilet seats and doorknobs to gain clout through the coronavirus pandemic

Disclaimer: This challenge is a health hazard and we strongly condemn this. We request readers to not try this.

Alright, before I even get into this, let me make one thing very VERY clear: DO NOT TRY THIS. For your sake and that of those around you, please do not go licking things that shouldn't be licked in the midst of a pandemic that's got the entire world on its toes—or ever. Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, allow me to tell you about a couple of TikTokers who decided that a global Coronavirus outbreak would be the perfect time to make themselves popular online for all the wrong reasons.

Believed to have been set off by TikTok user Ava Louise, this so-called internet challenge encapsulates everything that's wrong with the social media influencer trend. It all started when Louise—a 20-something-year-old filmed herself in a plane toilet licking the seat as part of a "coronavirus challenge." Sharing the 6-seconds-long video on Twitter, she wrote: Please RT this so people can know how to properly be sanitary on the airplane. 

As if one clout-seeking TikToker isn't one too many, another one by the name of Eli Bosque was apparently so inspired by Louise's alleged master class on sanitation that he put his own spin on the Corona Challenge. While an airplane toilet seat was Louise's preferred ride to infamy, for Bosque, it was a doorknob. Posting a video of himself licking one, he put out a call for others to jump onto the "how to get attention during a pandemic" train. JOIN #CoronaVirusChallenge WITH ME AMD @realavalouiise, the internet user tweeted.

Speaking to Business Insider, Louise—who has 168k followers on Instagram and 24.5k followers on TikTok—claimed she started the challenge because she was "tired of some b—- named corona getting more publicity than ME." She added that "hot blondes" can recover from anything so there's "no harm done." While internet users facepalmed themselves that internet trends have reached this point, Louise confirmed on Twitter that the whole thing was simply a clout-hunting stunt and that licking an airplane toilet seat is no different than "eating a dude's a**."

She also proclaimed that she "can’t get coronavirus" because "just like the gays, rich blonde b****** are IMMUNE." Having successfully gained the attention of the internet, Louise then started spreading awareness of important social issues, tweeting: Ok so now that you're all on my page - racism is bad. Gay people are good. Transphobia is grosser than me licking a toilet. Good day. "The xenophobia makes me sad," she explained. "What’s not gunna make people sad is a hot rich blonde 20-something-year-old licking a toilet. It’s not like the virus can kill me anyway because I don’t use Facebook."

"It was iconic," Louise added. "ALS bucket challenge could never... Period." Despite the online backlash, the TikToker is pretty happy with the outcome. "I just wanted more attention than this corona b**** but she’s GOOD," she said. "So I capitalized off her. And now I’m like global news. My mum told me she’s proud of me I shed light on pandemic while wearing Fendi sunglasses … The serve."

In an NSFW-video to her YouTube account, Louise claimed that the "coronavirus challenge" was merely an attempt to troll the media. Thankfully, the trend hasn't picked up among other social media users.