Culture

The Viral Star of PledgeTok, Fraternities’ Answer to Bama Rush, Speaks

Who are these divas? Pledges like Ben Faber, who says, “It’s just to have some fun while we're doing this and get closer with the guys you’re making TikToks with.”
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Photographs: officialbigred0; Collage: Gabe Conte

Since 2021, viewers from all over the world have logged on to TikTok to watch the incoming freshman class at the University of Alabama go through the sorority rush process; last year, HBO capitalized on this with the documentary Bama Rush. This year, fraternities are getting their turn. Young men aren’t posting OOTDs on PledgeTok—yet—but they are participating in trends, performing choreographed dances, and begging the question: Who are these divas?

Or at least, that’s the question commenters are asking under the most viral PledgeTok videos. Unlike Bama Rush, which is specific to the University of Alabama, PledgeTok spans the country, from the University of North Carolina to Michigan State University to any other college town with a Brooks Brothers that hates to see them coming.

Set to songs like “JT Coming” by JT and “Da’ Dip” by Freak Nasty, the videos include large groups of men in suits performing with some of the most elaborate camerawork I’ve ever seen, featuring dancing that ranges from perfunctory to “one of you is transferring to NYU Tisch by the end of semester.”

If they’re not dancing, they’re clocking into their “respecting women” shifts, appearing on the doorsteps of their school’s sororities with declarations of love. “Good night to my beautiful stars of Delta Delta Delta,” says a Mizzou pledge in a video in which three men are laying on the ground making heart hands and kicking their feet. In others, they’re knocking on women’s dorm rooms. One of these resulted in the most viral TikTok, and love story, of the season.

In the video, University of Michigan student Ben Faber and his fellow pledges are filming the “you ladies alright?” TikTok trend, which involves knocking on doors in the dorm and, when the women open up, one man throwing a football and the other man “protecting” her by catching it. “You ladies alright?” the catcher asks. But Faber’s breath seemed to be taken away by the woman who answered the final door. The two shared a long stare that commenters were convinced was the beginning of an ‘80s romcom. The video received over 30 million views, and the follow-up—when Faber asks her to a dance—a whopping 80 million.

The account isn’t Faber’s alone. It’s shared by all the pledges, run by the fraternity who sends the pledges videos to imitate. “It's just to have some fun while we're doing this and get closer with the guys you're making TikToks with,” Faber explains.

Here Faber shares the true story behind the video and what it’s been like to become the face of PledgeTok.

GQ: You've done a few TikToks but then you make this one and it just explodes. Tell me about that.

Faber: So at first it was going decently viral because there was a Mezuzah on one of the doors that we knocked on and there was a crazy political debate in the comments. And I thought that I just went viral because of some political debate. Then I got sent this one video—and at this point it probably had like 70 million views—of some girl watching my video, pausing it, and then being like, “Do you guys see what I see?” And it's me staring into the last girl’s eyes. And then the comments were going crazy, and here comes thousands of more spinoff edits and videos. And I just thought it was the funniest thing in the world. It was never meant to be some love story.

Did you and the girl in the video connect after you went viral?

I messaged her on TikTok and we live in the same dorm so it's pretty easy to get in contact with her. I [originally] knocked on her door and was like, “Hey, do you mind being in a TikTok real quick? You just have to open the door and close it.” And it was just supposed to be a funny joke. And [then] I was like, “This is so crazy that this random, five-second clip we made went viral. So let's make a part two. It'll go even more viral.” And it just went absolutely crazy.

Going viral can be a double-edged sword. You’re a character to people and they can project, in this case, a love story on you. Was it ever hard to realize, “85 million people are watching me? And some people are creating this story around me and they don't even know me?” Or has it just been fun?

I can totally see how people would take it harshly and how it might be a little more serious for other people. At least for me, I'm not the kind of guy that cares too much about what other people's perspective is on me. And I feel like most people realize it’s just meant to be a joke and it turned into like some internet fantasy. I get stopped on the street sometimes or in classes and people would be like, “Are you actually in love with her?” It's just like, no, it's just for fun on TikTok. But I think the whole thing is just hilarious when I see an edit of myself.

And it looks like you got a brand deal from it?

Yeah. So we just did a deal with Buffalo Wild Wings. This account that was just supposed to be fun with my friends has blown up like crazy and I can actually make some profit off it and see where it goes.

Getting sponsored content and making side income for the fraternity through this, that feels like a very cool concept if it works.

Yeah, super cool. And I mean, all my friends in the frat, they love it. I'm gonna get them some free B-dubz.

Do you think because of the success, you’re gonna keep doing other things with the account and making videos?

You know, honestly, I have no idea. Right now while I'm a pledge, I think I'll stick to PledgeTok. When I'm not a pledge anymore, who knows? Maybe we'll give it to the pledges next year and keep it going.