The Josh Hutcherson TikTok Trend Explained: How Whistle Became The New Rickroll

Josh Hutcherson has been a Hollywood heartthrob for a while now. He made his debut in the industry as a child actor, but he really broke out with his role as Peeta in the "Hunger Games" movies, and in 2023, he had a notable role in "Five Nights at Freddy's." People obsessing over Hutcherson (occasionally in jest) has been taken to a new level thanks to an absurd TikTok trend, but what's it all about?

The Josh Hutcherson "Whistle" trend was helped on its way to becoming viral by TokTik user @misowenfr, who uploaded a fan edit of the actor dating back to 2014. The original video comes from YouTuber @MetroGirlzStation, who made a slideshow featuring images of Hutcherson set to "Whistle" by Joel Merry. The video has garnered millions of views in the time since it's been up, but it found new life on TikTok, where users took the slideshow and repurposed it as a joke.

While @misowenfr simply uploaded the original video, other users took it and put it in unusual places. For example, TikToker @munne.png shared a video of someone slicing into a tangerine, only for the slideshow to start playing on the inside of the fruit. The Josh Hutcherson TikTok trend is essentially a new form of Rickrolling, a classic internet gag that involves the music video for Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" popping up where you'd least expect it. From calculators to helmets, you never know where Hutcherson may appear next. 

Some of these new Josh Hutcherson "Whistle" TikToks are pretty intricate and creative. For example, @just.your.local.idiot offered a variation of the trend where they print out the first image of Josh Hutcherson from the slideshow on a small printer while the song plays. The song pauses whenever the printer stops momentarily, only to resume again, making the audio and visuals sync up with one another in a hilarious manner. This widespread social media phenomenon has been dubbed "Whistlegate" by some, and it has even earned the attention of the edit's original creator. 

Nine years after uploading the original video, @MetroGirlzStation posted a pinned comment on their YouTube page, writing, "OMG! I can't believe this video blew up after all these years. My little sister showed me all the videos on her TikTok and I think it's hilarious what you guys have done with it. Shout out to Natalie (@hutchers) for sharing the video on her TikTok and making all this happen. I had so much fun making this edit back then and it warms my heart to see a wave of new fans having fun with it." Josh Hutcherson has yet to comment on the meme, but given all of the edits people have made of him in "Five Nights at Freddy's," he's definitely having a moment on TikTok right now.