It’s the 10 year anniversary of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, the Pulitzer and Tony-award winning musical that chronicles the life of one of America’s founding fathers: Alexander Hamilton.
How is TikTok choosing to celebrate its big day?
Well, by turning Hamilton—the man, the myth, the legend—into the “I hate my wife” final boss.
Allow me to explain.
Over the past week or so, the internet’s favorite social media app has become inundated with videos of young women dressed in full Founding Father drag, sneaking out of bedroom windows while lip-synching Hamilton’s lines from the musical’s song: “Best of Wives and Best of Women.”
And, oh yeah, in their version, Hamilton really thinks his wife, Eliza, is annoying.
For those who need a refresher, the song arrives at the point in the musical when Hamilton is leaving his house in the middle of the night, intending to travel to New Jersey, where he will duel his longtime foe: Aaron Burr (Sir).
His movements awaken his wife, Eliza, who gently asks him to return to bed. He brushes her off, claiming he has an early meeting. She notes that it’s still dark out. He insists he has to write something down. She pleads again. He doubles down: “My meeting is at dawn.”
Originally, this scene is meant to be tragic, as everyone knows that Hamilton will go on to die in his duel with Burr.
However, for TikTokers, they don’t hear tragedy so much as Hamilton expressing that he wishes his needy wife would leave him the f--- alone.
This *unique* interpretation all started when a TikToker with the handle, @actuallyHamilt0n, posted a video of themself dressed in Hamilton cosplay (with the theater mic even taped to their forehead), acting out their version of the scene.
And from there, a trend was born.
Sometimes the Hamiltons almost appear a little afraid of Eliza and her clinginess.
Other times, the Hamiltons look like they would rather die than spend one more minute in Eliza’s presence.
At one point, a Hamilton squeezes themselves through a doggy door—that’s how desperate they are to escape Eliza’s nagging.
Naturally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the musical and the first person to play Alexander Hamilton on Broadway, had to hop on the trend. He posted a video recreating the “I hate my wife” moment to the official Hamilton musical TikTok account.
It remains unclear why so many TikTokers just happen to have 18th-century cosplay at the ready. (Seriously, why does everyone have the perfect fit for this trend!?)
Either way, we’re glad they do. Because as far as TikTok trends go, this one may be stupid, but it’s also very funny.
And, who knows? Maybe if Eliza hadn’t asked so many darn questions about where he was going, Hamilton wouldn’t have thrown away his last shot.
