‘Butt hurt’: Young Aussies, Americans in wild online feud

A single TikTok from an Aussie creator poking fun at Americans has set off US social media users, sparking a wild online feud.

Young Aussies and Americans have been caught up in a wild online feud, set off by a single TikTok poking fun at the relationship between the two nations.

It is no secret that there is some rivalry between the US and Australia and it appears the younger generations are keeping this competitiveness alive and well, with a quick search on social media showing a number of videos of people from both countries taking digs at each other online.

But a recent video from an Aussie creator poking fun at the US has well and truly set the situation alight, sparking a brutal war of words.

The video, posted by TikTok user Moggie, starts with the caption: “Americans finding out Australia hates them more than most of their enemies”.

He then dramatically lip syncs to a viral version of Rihanna’s Diamonds, with the clip then moving to “Australia” blankly staring at “America”, while the “United Kingdom” asks: “Hey, are they OK?”

The video was captioned: “That awkward moment when surveys show Australia is the most favourable country in the US but US is one of the least in AUS.” It’s not clear where the claim came from.

The Aussie TikTok creator made the video poking fun at America. Picture: @the_mogg/TikTok

It sparked a wild war of words between citizens from the two nations. Picture: @the_mogg/TikTok

The clip was only 15 seconds long but it really struck a nerve with users, being viewed more than 1.7 million times and racking up almost 11,000 comments in a matter of days.

Many Aussies found the video hilarious and wholeheartedly agreed with the claim that we were not so fond of Americans.

“I’ve never seen such a relatable TikTok, this sums up my entire view of America,” one person wrote.

“Our government says we are pals but the citizens are like ‘nah mate’,” another said.

Others were also quick to point out the number of upset people in the comment section.

“Honestly so funny how the comments is half distraught Americans and the other half is ones getting really defensive,” someone wrote.

“They’re all so butt hurt,” another said, while another claimed “Americans took this so personally I am in tears”.

There certainly were many comments from those less than impressed with the video, though the sentiment among many of the respondents was that the majority of Americans rarely think about Australia.

The ultimate frenemies. Picture: Kenny Holston/AFP

Some claimed they had never “thought of Australia favourably”, another said that if it wasn’t for the TV show Bluey they would forget Australia exists, with one adding they only like “Steve Irwin and that’s about it”.

Others claimed Australia was basically the same as the US but with “worse accents”, while another simply claimed that the “USA rules”.

One Aussie likened America to the “cousin your parents tells you to go play with cause no one else will”.

But another person disagreed, claiming instead “America is that creepy cousin you’re forced to play with and their first idea is to commit arson”.

“Just happens that same cousin is 10x bigger than you and will wipe the floor with your face if you step out of line,” one person responded.

“You talkin s**t until you get invaded and need American support,” another added.

The whole 11,000 strong comment section was a combination of these tit-for-tat insults and people mocking other commenters for taking the TikTok too seriously.

But is the claim that Australians aren’t as fond of the US as its citizens may think actually true? Well, new data suggests this may be the case.

Geography trivia for you: The US records net positive migration from the entire world except Australia. Does that mean US Americans think Australia is the only more desirable destination on the planet? 😉🇺🇸🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/N1Mo2s035t

— Simon Kuestenmacher (@simongerman600) June 24, 2023

A map showing US migration across the globe has revealed that, for almost every country in the world, America gains more of their citizens than it has US citizens in their nation, with Australia being the one exception.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that there are almost 110,000 US-born residents in Australia while US Census Bureau data estimate that there are 97,800 Australians in the US.

The findings were tweeted by demographer Simon Kuestenmacher last month, asking: “Does that mean US Americans think Australia is the only more desirable destination on the planet?”

Mr Kuestenmacher told news.com.au it showed “how attractive Australia is” to the rest of the world.

“Australia has a lot of things to offer, plenty of jobs, plenty of large American companies, which provide an easy pathway for employment,” he said.

“We are also an English speaking nation, most US Americans only speak English so they don’t have the world to choose from.”

– with Carla Mascarenhas

Originally published as ‘Butt hurt’: Young Aussies, Americans in wild online feud