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Be sure to read the reviews before buying into this disturbing trend.

Yet another eyebrow-raising TikTok fad for couples has cropped up: This time, it’s the “boyfriend haul” — and it’s being called out as problematic by critics who are comparing the viral trend to “slavery auction blocks.”

Content creators are using the hashtag #boyfriendhaul, which has more than 27 million views, to show off their beaus and highlight their best “features.”

Despite beginning in jest, the trend took a turn for the worst when the videos were called out as problematic, rather than lovingly showing off significant others. Likening them to slavery “auction blocks” — which were used into the 19th century to sell enslaved individuals, detractors are saying the so-called “boyfriend hauls” have similarities to slave auctions due to the language used about black partners.

TikTok user @sunshinelively posted a clip denouncing a “boyfriend haul” video from @cadyebs — who has more than 286,000 followers on the app — in which she calls her husband “dusty, musty and crusty” and said she got him on “clearance.”


  TikToker @sunshinelively called out another couple’s #boyfriendhaul video. TikTok / @sunshinelively TikToker @sunshinelively called out another couple’s #boyfriendhaul video. TikTok / @sunshinelively

User @sunshinelively didn’t stop there, either, also calling out other TikTokers — like user Zareefa Arije — who used the terms “crossbreeding” and “purebred” to describe her nonwhite husband.

“One of these boyfriend hauls is not like the other,” she captioned the TikTok, followed by the hashtag #racism.

“ ‘I got him on clearance cause he is a little bit seasoned’ Girl what??!!!!!!!” one bewildered viewer, quoting the video, wrote in the comments.

“The fact he allows this,” said another.

Meanwhile, others said the trend was “just a joke” or not their problem.

“Can’t be mad at her…he stood there and laughed,” one person said. “I’m afraid this just ain’t our battle,” wrote another. “It’s a joke calm down,” commented someone else.

Other creators have spoken out against the trend, too, with most TikTokers responding to a clip by @haiandcrew, run by a creator named Hailey. In the video — that was duetted by another user — Hailey, who is white presenting, touts her shirtless black boyfriend, saying she “purchased” him when he was finally “on the market.”


  Other users reacted to the appalling racist language used in some of the “hauls.” TikTok / oneyatootuff Other users reacted to the appalling racist language used in some of the “hauls.” TikTok / oneyatootuff

Since receiving flack online, the user’s profile has been set to private, but the footage lives on in the form of Duets.

“PURCHASED!? Uhhhhhh,” one user criticized.

“Giving ‘Get Out’ vibes,” quipped someone else who compared the clip to the acclaimed 2017 film.

Creator Zareefa Arije has since issued an apology for her own clip, which showed her describing her husband as “chocolate” and “purebred.”


  The TikToker compared the boyfriend hauls to the auction block, upon which slaves were sold until the 19th century. TikTok / @sunshinelively The TikToker compared the boyfriend hauls to the auction block, upon which slaves were sold until the 19th century. TikTok / @sunshinelively

“I’m so disappointed in myself for not being educated enough on slave trading and slave auctions and slave breeding,” she said in the video. “It was never, never my intention to make fun of or make that situation so lighthearted.”

After reading comments and doing her own research, she said she couldn’t believe she ever put it on the internet.

“I can’t believe that I spoke on something that I knew nothing about,” she continued. “It’s totally unacceptable.”

“Ya’ll can accept her apology or not, I’m not invested in that,” @sunshinelively wrote in response. “This is just further proof that complete Black history needs to be taught.”

Model Iskra Lawrence, who has 1.2 million followers, also hopped on the TikTok trend, but siding with @sunshinelively’s viewpoint. In her “anti-racist edition,” she pulls her partner, who is black, into the video, which was captioned with hashtags #dontdoit and #dobetter.

“I got this idea to tell you that you need to do your research, and if you’re dating a black man, it is your responsibility to understand the history and the trauma of slavery,” she says, leaning into the camera.

Not everyone denounced the trend, though, with some users asking if it was only acceptable for people with white partners to do a #boyfriendhaul — to which people responded a resounding “yes.”

One such video which didn’t receive online flack was from user @olivia.antongiovanni.

“I first saw it when I was 13, and then was finally convinced into getting it when I was 14, so it’s actually 10 years old,” she says of her boyfriend in a clip with 1.7 million views. “There has been a bit of wear and tear, but honestly, I feel like it’s gotten better over the years.”


  The infamous boyfriend haul TikTok trend took a turn for the worst, despite beginning all in jest. TikTok / @olivia.antongiovanni The infamous boyfriend haul TikTok trend took a turn for the worst, despite beginning all in jest. TikTok / @olivia.antongiovanni

  This TikToker shows off her boyfriend’s muscles, describing him as an “athletic” build. TikTok / @olivia.antongiovanni This TikToker shows off her boyfriend’s muscles, describing him as an “athletic” build. TikTok / @olivia.antongiovanni

She says her boyfriend — who is great if “you’re looking for something long-term” — is athletic, so “it has really cool features,” and gestures to his leg muscles as she twirled him in a circle.

“What’s cool about this one is it cleans everything, it writes love letters and it plans dates,” she jokes. “The only thing I would say is it’s not so good at cooking, so if you’re looking for that, I would get a different model.”

“He’s just standing there happy to be there this so funny and him just smiling is so cute,” one amused commenter wrote. “You get that on amazon?” joked someone else.

But for TikToker @sunshinelively, the “boyfriend haul” trend is no laughing matter, doubling down that the videos are unacceptable given the history of human trafficking.

“It doesn’t matter if an individual is OK with it, it’s not about the individual,” she explains in a follow-up clip. “If you’re making light about something my people went through…then I’m going to check you on it.”

“I don’t care how black adjacent you are. I don’t care if your black mother-in-law said it was OK. I don’t care if your black grandchildren said it was OK,” she continues. “It’s not OK.”

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