An 11-second TikTok about a woman showing her boyfriend a leaf has spiraled into a full-blown relationship discourse, despite the creators repeatedly saying it was a joke.
Dubbed the "leaf test," the parody video was meant to poke fun at viral relationship metrics, but millions of viewers treated it like a legitimate emotional litmus test, dissecting the boyfriend’s response and judging the couple’s compatibility as if the leaf were the point.
The leaf test: how a joke became a relationship barometer
In the original video from TikTokers @thestandardta, Toni held up an oversized leaf and said, "I found a leaf." Her boyfriend Austin replied, "It’s beautiful, just like you." She then sighed deeply and pressed her lips together. He immediately sat up straighter and added, "Oh, is that alright? Sorry…"
The clip racked up more than 28.7 million views after the couple posted it on Dec. 23, 2025. It also pulled in over 11.8K comments.
While the couple clarified in their TikTok profile that the video was a joke, many people didn't see it that way. Instead, they criticized Toni’s reaction or judged the relationship outright. One person wrote, "He deserves someone better," while another asked, "Do you even like him?"
Others expressed confusion rather than outrage. "WHAT WAS HE SUPPOSED TO SAY 😭😭😭" one TikToker commented.
Still, some viewers tried to decode subtext that the video never offered. "i think he essentially failed the test," another person wrote. "She was showing him something that interested her, and rather than showing interest in the same thing, he redirected the conversation to his perception of her."
Meanwhile, more women recreated the bit with their own partners or on their own.
However, these versions often framed the leaf as an actual test of shared enthusiasm. The idea suggested that a "correct" response meant matching excitement over the leaf.
Critics pushed back while Reddit tore the joke apart
As the trend spread, TikToker @deniztalks criticized it in a stitched video. "What did he do wrong?" he asked. "The bird test, the leaf test, the olive theory […] Social media has fried our brains. Social media has convinced young people that if their partner doesn't give an arbitrarily determined, hyper-specific answer for a random test that they saw on social media, that they're not compatible."
Later, that critique video landed on Reddit, where people went even harder. u/EctoRiddler joked, "The correct answer is the leaf use to be alive like our relationship." Meanwhile, u/LordsPineapple noted that this isn't a new trend, "It’s just adapted to a new media."
Others pointed out the satire on the original video. One TikToker commented, "this is the funniest thing i’ve ever seen." Another wrote, "Why is everyone taking this literally, is obviously satire😹"
TikToker @kingofthebetas echoed that frustration. "Their page literally says it’s a joke," he said. "This video went viral for all the wrong reasons."
Redditor u/lemanruss4579 did a deep dive into the trend and wrote, "After doing a bit of research, because this is a new one on me too, apparently the 'leaf test' started as a parody of all the other stupid 'relationship tests' on social media. It was never meant to be taken seriously."
"And most of the videos of it seem to be in that vein, parodies/spoofs, obvious skits, etc. I think this pretty clearly falls into that category."
They added that some people still treated it seriously, even when the leaf was never the point.
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