What Is the BAD TIMES Trend? The Argument Lip-Sync Meme, Explained

If your feed has been full of people — and dogs, and toddlers — furiously arguing with whoever is filming them while mouthing every word of a deep-house song, you've met the BAD TIMES trend. Here's where it came from, what the moves are, the versions people make, and how to make your own.

The original BAD TIMES video: one argument, one handheld take.

What is the BAD TIMES trend?

It's a heated-argument lip-sync. Someone has an over-the-top fight with the person holding the phone — grabbing their head, pointing, raising "hold on" hands and lunging into the lens — while lip-syncing "BAD TIMES" by Imael Angel the whole time. The joke is the contrast: a full-blown, dramatic argument, performed to a song.

The trend started with a TikTok by the French creator @bouuhyachaka, captioned "Ça va barder!!". She did it in one handheld take, and the video drew millions of views. Then people started swapping her for their pets, and cats and dogs standing up to argue with the camera became the trend's signature. By late September 2026, "bad times ai" had become a search of its own, as people looked for a way to make one from a photo.

The moves, beat by beat

The original runs about 30 seconds in one take. Everyone copies the same beats:

1. Head in hands. Bent low holding the head, then straightening up to stare at whoever is filming.
2. Hand on hip, "hold on". One hand on the hip, the other flapping by the face, then both palms up: hold on, listen.
3. The lunge. Charging at the lens, a finger jabbing at the camera, a palm slapped at the screen, both hands reaching in.
4. Round two. Pacing back, one more charge at the lens, arms thrown wide, and a last stare up close.

If you only want the best-known part, the first 15 seconds end on that palm slapped at the lens. The first 10 end just after the "hold on" hands, and the first 20 once she steps back.

The song: Imael Angel's "BAD TIMES"

The track is "BAD TIMES", a deep-house song credited to Imael Angel and released on March 30, 2026 on the artist's own label, Imael Angel Records. It's not to be confused with other songs called "Bad Times" — the trend is specifically this track. Many people ask whether the song itself was made with AI; there's no confirmed answer, and we go through what is and isn't known in our step-by-step guide.

The three versions of the trend

The original

A person arguing with the camera, as in @bouuhyachaka's video: you, a friend or anyone who agreed to play the part.

The dog version

After the original went viral, pets took over: dogs standing on their hind legs, raising their paws and lunging at the lens, beat for beat. One of them, a husky in a TikTok by @gothikzoul, re-performs the original take beat for beat, on the original's timing. Cats got in on it too.

The toddler version

Parents then filmed their toddlers doing the same. A toddler in a TikTok by @ngkhnhvi768 does the trend her own way: close-ups pointing at the lens, a little "stop" hand, stepping back, a shrug and a giggle, and toddling off at the end. Her take is about 26 seconds, a little shorter than the original.

How to make your own with Bad Times AI

You don't need to film anything. Bad Times AI has one template per version, each built from a depth map of the reference take — so the moves, the handheld camera and the timing match, while the face, the outfit (or the fur) and the room come from your photo. The song is added under the finished video.

The steps are the same for all three:

1. Upload one photo. One clear, well-lit, front-facing subject. Use everyday photos of yourself, your pets or friends who agreed to it; celebrity photos and film or music video stills don't pass review. Our photo guide has the details.
2. Pick the model, length and quality. Budget and Balanced render up to 15 seconds; Premium renders the whole take, in 480p, 720p or 1080p.
3. Generate and download. Your photo is reviewed, the video renders in a few minutes, and you get a vertical 9:16 MP4 with the song and no watermark.

Videos start at 4 credits, and each account's first full 480p video costs 20 credits. You can also buy one video without an account — $3.99 for 15 seconds on Balanced, $6.99 for the full take on Premium. If a photo isn't approved or a render fails, your credits or payment come back automatically. See pricing for credit packs, or go straight to the studio.

Making one with your pet? Our dog and cat guide explains how the pet version differs.

Caption ideas

The trend works best when the caption tells us what the argument is about. Some of the ways people caption it:

• My cat when the food bowl is half empty
• My dog when I said "no walk today"
• Me when someone says it's "just a joke"
• Me explaining why I'm 5 minutes late
• My cat at 5 a.m. when I'm still asleep
• Me when my roommate ate my leftovers

Add the trend's hashtags, #BadTimes #BadTimesTrend, and label the video as AI-generated if you made it with AI, as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube ask. The song is already in the MP4; TikTok or Instagram may match it to the official sound when you post, and you can swap it in from the app.

Make your Bad Times video →

Bad Times AI is an independent tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by Imael Angel, the song's label or the creators of the trend videos mentioned here.