What's The Story Behind Frankie Lapennas' Famous Butt?
TikTok star Frankie LaPenna shot to social media fame for his green screen videos poking fun at pandemic-era Zoom meetings, butt (go with it) these days, he's known just as well for his famous posterior. Just one question: What's the story behind, well, his behind?
There's no denying that much of LaPenna's success on social media can be attributed to his voluptuous character, Jim Kardashian. In fact, as he said in a 2022 YouTube video, content featuring the curvy character took up three of the spots in his top five most viral pieces of content across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube combined. Since then, he's only continued to rake in the views, with one of his most watched YouTube shorts (we're talking 212 million views, here) seeing the character offer booty print autographs to fans as part of a "Meet and greet." At the time of this writing, the meet and greet video is his third most-watched video on the platform. Ahead of that is his fight video, "Caked up man wins a fight using his cake." His most viewed clip is that same character taking a dramatic fall in a different fight (though there's no doubt that the aforementioned "cake" broke his fall and prevented any injuries).
It's safe to say that LaPenna's gigantic peach has captivated his social media following. However, our question remains. What's the origin story of the hindquarters that propelled him to internet superstardom, and is it the real deal or just a clever illusion? Let's get to the bottom of it!
Frankie can't remember the true origins of Jim Kardashian
Considering just how popular Jim Kardashian has become with social media users, it may come as a surprise to many that Frankie LaPenna doesn't remember the backstory to his backside. In fact, as he's revealed in interviews with both "The FilmUp Podcast" and "98 Rock Baltimore," he can't even remember why or when he decided to create videos of the character surrounded by protection officers. Said officers have since been dubbed the character's "Booty guards."
That said, even if LaPenna can't quite narrow down a specific moment he felt he needed to share the character with the world, there's no denying that Kim Kardashian was his inspiration. As he joked, "I'm like the lost Kardashian, Jim ... I'm like a disowned brother, disowned, just walking around, caked up." He also quipped that he hoped Kim had come across his content at some point. "I lay awake at night, wondering if she has seen, like, one or two of the videos," he mused.
It only makes sense, then, that given the opportunity, he'd be more than open to creating content with the reality star. As for what that might entail, he shared that there would definitely need to be some kind of show-down. In light of the fact that LaPenna is one of the most-watched non-celebrity TikTok creators of all time – and Kim's own penchant for comedy, post-"SNL" – we wouldn't rule out the possibility of that happening.
Some have accused Frankie LaPenna of faking his posterior
As for anyone accusing Frankie LaPenna of having a fake butt, well, you might be right. Fellow YouTuber Bradley Martyn previously mused in a video that LaPenna's behind was of the manufactured variety in a YouTube short. And, in a March 2022 Instagram post, LaPenna himself hinted that it was true.
More specifically, in the video — to promote the auction of a butt mold — the content creator insinuated that it was the very same model he wore. "If I were the lucky buyer, here, I mean, I would wear this dump truck around town and make viral videos with it, myself," he quipped to the auctioneer as a montage of his videos played out. Clearly, the approach worked. As LaPenna revealed in his interview on "The FilmUp Podcast," there was stiff competition for the now-owner of the mold. "There was, uh, 36 bidders ... several of which were bidding well above $7,000, $8,000," he laughed. Ultimately, the piece was sold for more than $15,000. That makes sense, though. After all, as LaPenna joked, "That is a world-famous dump truck ... Like, that thing's literally been seen by billions."
No word on whether the auction winner is plotting a career in big booty content creation. That said, LaPenna has previously shared his tips for anyone hoping to replicate what he's achieved by way of an Instagram video, so he may be their first port of call there, too. Talk about leading from the rear.