Who is Natalie Nunn? The star behind viral ‘Baddies, pose for me’ TikTok song
The viral “Natalie Nunn! Baddies! Pose for me!” tune has been blaring across countless TikTok videos, with a trending seated dance alongside it.
This isn’t the first time Nunn’s name appeared in a trending TikTok song. In “Endless Fashion,” rapper Nicki Minaj said, “Ayo, even if my name was Natalie Nunn, these [expletive] still couldn’t chin-check me.”
But the question is, “Who is Natalie Nunn?”
Who is Natalie Nunn?
Nunn is an alumni of Bad Girls Club, a long-running show that kicked off its first season in 2006. It’s basically like The Real World, but with self-proclaimed “bad girls” who try to “out alpha” each other inside a swanky mansion.
The show is now cancelled, but it had a good run with 17 seasons under its belt.
Despite giving nearly 300 women a platform between 2006 and 2017, Nunn is one of the few who stood out from all the cast members.
Tanisha Thomas, from Bad Girls Club Season 2, set the tone for the show, becoming viral for a memeable in a scene in which she slammed pots and pans together to vengefully get back at her castmates for not letting her sleep. “I didn’t get no sleep ’cause of y’all! Y’all not gonna get no sleep ’cause of me!”
But it’s Nunn, I’d argue, who rocketed the show to success.
First introduced to us in December 2009 via Bad Girls Club season 4, Nunn’s unique personality caught users’ attention. She developed a reputation of being “the most controversial bad girl” in the show’s history.
“My roommates need to know that it’s about me! Me, me, me, me, me!” she shouted before walking into the Bad Girls Club mansion. “And the minute I get into this house, I’m going to do what I’m going to do, and there are no rules ’cause I make up the rules.”
And well, for better or worse, Nunn stood by her word. She did what she wanted to do, said what she wanted to say, and fought when she wanted to fight. Often seen as loud and obnoxious, she regularly shouted, “I run LA!”, which is still one of her catchphrases to this day. Beyond her bold behavior, she also made headlines when she claimed to have a relationship with singer-songwriter Chris Brown.
Nunn’s season was the most watched in Bad Girls Club history.
To put it succinctly, while some people gain fame from adoration, Nunn launched her career by being controversial, playing the villain, and sparking conversations around her rebellious behavior.
Nunn became the girl you love to hate, and although 15 years have passed since she first graced our TV screen, she’s been popping up regularly with new gigs and pop culture moments.
How did Natalie Nunn extend her ’15 minutes’ of fame?
Nunn is a niche pop culture icon for wild reality TV lovers. She’s not quite as well known as figures from The Kardashians nor Jersey Shore, but true consumers of 2000s reality TV know Nunn, as well as the likes of Tiffany Pollard from VH1’s Flavor of Love, Nene Leakes from Real Housewives of Atlanta, and Spencer Pratt from The Hills.
This isn’t to say that Nunn is on the same level as these aforementioned stars who have a hint of mischievousness. The point is that they’ve all been memorialized in some of the most popular memes and GIFs of our time, showcasing how they’ve left a mark on viewers and captivated audiences.
Since Nunn’s season 4 appearance on Bad Girls Club, she has been casted in numerous Bad Girls Club spin-offs, as well as shows like Bridezillas (which documented her wedding planning woes with Arizona Rattlers football star Jacob Payne), Marriage Bootcamp: Reality Stars 2, and Celebrity Big Brother 22.
Across all these shows, Nunn maintained her “bad girl” image, playing the villain in many instances. She’s the girl you’d expect to be casted in a show like House of Villains, which featured fiery characters like Anfisa Arkhipchenko from 90 Day Fiance and Omarosa Manigault Newman from The Apprentice. (Perhaps she’ll be casted for House of Villains 2, if it gets a second season.)
While many former Bad Girls Club contestants shied away from the cameras, hoping to shed their “bad girl” image, Nunn leaned into it, even partnering with the Zeus Network for a new-ish franchise called “Baddies.”
Baddies! Pose for me!
So this is where the word “Baddies” in the TikTok song comes from.
In fact, it’s Nunn herself who is rapping the viral TikTok snippet. Nunn is promoting Baddies, the franchise she’s currently executive producing, which premiered in 2021, starting with Baddies ATL. It’s similar to Bad Girls Club, but I’d argue it’s far more intense, with more physical and verbal altercations than ever. Baddies received a similar critical response to Bad Girls Club, in that some people believe it’s “problematic” and “exploitative.”
But even if you’ve never heard about Baddies, nor Nunn, the snappy 11-second tune has been climbing in popularity in recent weeks. The trend originated with @lyssa and it took off, with TikTok users of all ages participating in it. The video below, for example, has nine million views.
The elements of the seated dance trend are simple: pretend you’re stroking your hair, pose for the camera, swoop your head from right to left across the camera, and show off your “slim thick” figure.
Even Nunn herself eventually hopped on the trend.
In another video, she applied a filter that made her chin more prominent, leaning into critics who poke fun at her distinct profile. (As mentioned at the outset, even Nicki Minaj referenced it in “Endless Fashion.”)
The tune comes from a two-minute song called “Pose for Me” ft. Natalie Nunn by John Mackk. On Instagram, Nunn released the song to her 2.7 million followers in late August.
Love her or hate her, Natalie Nunn has managed to stay in the limelight, proving that some personalities are simply unforgettable.
