TikTok star Jools Lebron makes 'very demure' late night appearance
TikTok star Jools Lebron just had an exciting TV debut.
The social media sensation, known for recently popularizing the term "demure," made an appearance on Monday night's episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
After guest host RuPaul introduced Lebron to the audience, he asked how she thought he was doing so far with his hosting responsibilities, to which she joyfully responded, "Very demure, very mindful."
Lebron initially captured the attention of TikTok users when she posted a video on Aug. 5, writing in text over the video, "How to be demure and modest and respectful at the work place."
In the short video, she shares how she styles her makeup and hair -- as well as her choice of dress and fragrance -- when going to work, describing her look as "very demure," "very mindful" and modest.
According to Merriam-Webster, "demure" means "affectedly modest, reserved or serious."
"You see how I do my makeup for work? Very demure, very mindful," she says in the video in part. "I don't come to work with a green cut crease. I don't look like a clown when I go to work. I don't do too much -- I'm very mindful while I'm at work. Do you see how I look very presentable? The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job."
"Be mindful of why they hired you," she adds at the end of the video.
Since posting, Lebron's video has gone viral, garnering more than 35.4 million views -- and counting.
When asked on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" this week what the word "demure" means to her, Lebron said she thinks of it as "a mindset."
"I used to be crazy and out of control, and I found some 'demuriety,' and along with that came success," Lebron said. "Demuriety is my purity."
The viral social media star, who said she works at a grocery store in Illinois, also opened up about why she posted the video, saying, "Apparently, the trauma that comes from working a retail job gets enough to you that you start saying 'demure' on the internet."
Lebron's video has prompted a wave of similar videos using the "demure" buzzword, even gaining traction among celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis.
The "Freaky Friday' co-stars posted a video to Instagram on Aug. 16 jumping on the trend, in which they are seen sitting in a car together.
"Straight hair: very demure," Lohan says while sitting in the passenger seat.
Curtis, who is sitting in the driver's seat, adds, "Wearing a seatbelt: very mindful."
Of all the celebrities who have gotten in on the trend, Lebron said Jennifer Lopez surprised her the most.
"I think J.Lo [was the most surprising], because she finally revealed what that orange drink from the block was," Lebron said jokingly, referring to Lopez's previous comments about her typical bodega order growing up in the Bronx.
In a now viral clip from her music film "This Is Me … Now: A Love Story" earlier this year, Lopez states that her usual bodega order included "a ham and cheese on a roll" "a small bag of chips" and a mystery "orange drink," the last of which prompted a frenzy of social media responses from users wondering what beverage she was referring to.
In a new video shared to the singer's social media pages, Lopez is seen sipping a bottle of L'Orange Spritz from her Delola cocktail company.
"See how I do this when I drink from the bottle? Very demure, very mindful," Lopez says before taking a sip of the orange drink. "I don't just chug it ... very elegant."
For Lebron, the viral success of on her "demure" video, Lebron, who identifies as a transgender woman, shared in a heartfelt post that due to her success, she can now finance the rest of her gender transition.
For Lebron, a transgender woman, the viral success of her "demure" video has translated to real-world impact: In a heartfelt post on TikTok on Aug. 14, Lebron shared that she is now able to finance the rest of her gender transition.
"Maybe you should make the videos," she tells her followers in the video. "Because one day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break, and now, I’m flying across [the] country to host events, and I'm going to be able to finance the rest of my transition."
"I finally said it without crying," she adds, laughing.
