Olive Oil Girl might be TikTok’s last laugh
Megan Chacalos wears her new title proudly
Embedded is your essential guide to what’s good on the internet, written by Kate Lindsay and edited by Nick Catucci.
Couldn’t think of a more fitting interview to end 2024. Embedded will still pop up in your inbox once or twice before the New Year, but otherwise: See you in 2025! —Kate
If TikTok really does get banned next month, you can’t say it didn’t go out swinging. The final viral trends on the platform weren’t anything to proudly boast in history textbooks, but rather were emblematic of what the app contributed to culture: unhinged, unfettered chaos. I’m talking, of course, about the Pepé muppet meme—in which people share their most harrowing personal experiences across several slides of the same muppet picture—but more specifically, the Olive Oil Story.
Those words alone may already immediately conjure an image for the extremely online, but in case you missed it: actor and producer Megan Chacalos’s December 6 childhood story about applying an olive oil hair mask, slipping on the dripping oil, passing out, waking up, setting off her house alarm, going to bed, waking up to what she thought were burglars who turned out to be the police responding to the alarm after being in the area due to a waterline break, going back to bed, waking up to shower in the morning, realizing there’s no water due to the waterline break, and having to go to school with a saran-wrapped, olive-oiled head—*finally takes deep breath*—understandably captured the attention of over 60 million viewers.
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Both the initial post and subsequent reenactment were filmed in her family home in West Virginia before flying back to New York. By the time she landed, she was a celebrity, and has since worked with trendy olive oil brand Graza and hopes to channel the momentum from the viral moment towards her acting career. In this conversation, we chat about the unexpected response to her story, what the fame has been like, and the question on everyone’s mind: was the olive oil hair mask worth it?
Among your friends and family, was the olive oil story already an iconic story?
Somewhat? But also I just happen to be one of those people. I'm one of God's favorites apparently, because unfortunate things happen to me all the time. And so even in the story, like going to school that day with the saran wrap, the people who knew me didn't even really bat an eye because they were like, “Oh just another thrilling day in the life of Megan Chacalos,” right? But that day, I was thinking about how I needed to take TikTok more seriously. I was sitting there watching a self-made marathon of Little House on the Prairie. And I thought, you know what, I don't feel like putting on makeup and setting up my ring light and then being serious and talking about Broadway news, and my whole timeline was either Broadway news or the Pepé meme. And I was like, let me just do the Pepé meme because I don't have to be on camera.
And so when did you notice that it was going viral?
Oh my God, when I got off my flight. I almost missed my flight because we didn't leave for the airport in time, I was the last person through the gate, and I wasn't looking at my phone. Then airplane mode goes on and it wasn't until I got to New York, I turned my phone on to be like, “I need my New Jersey transit ticket,” and then I could not use my phone because the notifications had blown up so much. I couldn't get to settings to turn off my notifications. I was like, “What is happening?”
Not only have I seen your video and then the reenactment, but then I've seen people posting about their appreciation for the story. What has that been like?
It is absolutely hysterical. I now have an army of stans which is a sentence I didn't think I'd be saying on this Thursday morning. Apparently they've made cryptocurrency with me, but I'm staying away from that one. The best thing from it though is now all of my videos have thousands of views because everyone went back and watched my other stuff. I'm like, girl, where have you been?
And just all of the brands reaching out is so hysterical because I don't feel different. I'm still going about my daily life, waking up late, running to catch the subway. It's very gobsmacking every single time I open my inbox.
Are you hearing from olive oil brands?
So many. Graza sent two of their employees dressed like olive oil to my front door, carrying a plethora of oils for me. And so I partnered with them and they were like, “Can you please do another olive oil hair mask?” And I said, “For you and for this much free olive oil? Absolutely.” So I posted that the other day and it was funny because everyone's like, “This is actually how marketing should be done every time.” So that was fun. I was like, “Maybe I went into the wrong career.”
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Your dad is a key player in the story because he is kind of the victim of it. What does he think about the virality?
He thinks it's hysterical. My whole family does and my dad, he's just as quick with it as I am. So he's like, “You think Victoria's Secret's gonna wanna partner with me and do an ad campaign?” I'm like, “No, no one wants that.” And he's become very popular. My parents have become very popular at church and work.
The lingering question I have after hearing your story is, after it was all said and done, did your hair feel silkier?
I was an absolute goddess. It truly led to my senior year glow-up. I was known for being very funny and I wasn't a popular kid per se, but I was a key player in our theater department. But my senior year I had an extreme glow-up and I totally say it's because of the olive oil. Every time my prom pictures circulate again, everyone's like, “God, your hair looks so nice.” I'm like, yeah, I know.
You’re like, “It came at a cost.” You mentioned that you do acting, producing, theater. I know it's still new and you've had brands reaching out to you, but has this opened any doors beyond just getting free olive oil?
I hope so. I'm like, thank you for all the brands that are coming in, but where's the managers and agents? Because I know the cucumber boy got signed after like a day. I'm like, I'll be watching a little House on the Prairie until that email comes through.
My last question is, as the expert, what olive oil would you recommend either for hair or for cooking? Is there a brand that you're loyal to?
Ok, so my family is not loyal to any brand. All brands are welcome in the Chacalos house. But I must say after my retrial the other night with Graza, it's actually so ridiculous how well my hair turned out. So I think that they might be my new go to.