Trump Called It a 'Scary Time' for Men. Now It's a Viral Song

When addressing the allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh last Tuesday, President Trump had this to say: "It is a very scary time for young men in America, when you can be guilty of something you're not guilty of." Fast forward one week, and those words have found a second life in a viral ukulele song. Lynzy Lab, a performance artist living in San Marcos, Texas, posted her roughly 2.5-minute video to YouTube on Sunday, and it has racked up 500,000 YouTube views since—plus another 31 million on Facebook.

• In her song, she lists things women can't safely or freely do lest they end up in scary situations. A sampling: "I can't walk to my car late at night while on the phone. I can't open up my windows when I'm home alone. I can't go to a bar without a chaperone. I can't wear a miniskirt if it's the only one I own."
• Then comes the counterpart, in lines like: "It sure is a scary time for dudes, can't text a girl repeatedly asking for nudes. Can't make a girl have a sex when she's not in the mood, and what gives her the right to give you attitude." She ends with a call for women to "make some noise" and vote on Nov. 6.

• The Washington Post notes Lab's song doesn't use any names, but it sees a "poignant" reference in the line, "I can't speak out against my rapist after 35 years," a nod to Christine Blasey Ford.
• At Texas Monthly, Dan Solomon points out that there's nothing fancy about the video's production; Lab "doesn’t even position the camera horizontally. But punk rock taught us that production values can sometimes get in the way of the message, and Lab definitely has something to say."
• Fast Company calls the song "the #MeToo anthem for the midterms."
• Lab herself addressed potential critics with the following tweet: "Just to clear up any confusion: I'm not here to delegitimize men's struggles. I'm just hoping that we can finally start legitimizing women's. Regardless of what you've decided about me, I'm not 'anti-men'. I am, however, super 'pro-women'. You should be too."
• And there certainly are critics: Her video has been liked 16,000 times on YouTube but racked up 2,400 dislikes. A sample comment ostensibly from the dislike camp: "Thanks, this song about women's rights in Iran is very informative. Glad we live in America.?"

(More President Trump stories.)