Inside Amy Schumer continued its stellar skewering of societal beauty standards this week with a pitch-perfect parody of a boy band song and music video. The send-up was glaringly close to one boy band in particular: One Direction. The British supergroup is notorious for their lyrics telling girls how beautiful they are (why can five guys who've never met you see it, but not you, girl? That's what makes you so beautiful, I guess), but would they be singing the same tune if their subjects actually listened and let their inner beauty shine, makeup-free?
In "Girl, Take Off Your Makeup," four perfectly styled and coiffed dudes echo Beyoncé's mantra to take off all that silly goop and just wake up like this. Only when Schumer does, the boys quickly change their tune.
"Girl, I can't be seen with the girl from The Ring."
"I didn't know that your lashes were so stubby and pale; just a little mascara, you'll look female."
"Just get up an hour earlier, and you can make yourself much girlier...Just a little makeup, some natural-looking makeup. What more do I have to say?"
It's even got the usual section where they just say a bunch of "na na na na's" and clap enthusiastically, which takes you into the slow, seductive talking part of the song. Only here, the break-it-down, let's get super-real moment involves a bunch of cruel metaphors about tearing up shag carpets assuming there were hardwood floors underneath only to be greeted with "dirty linoleum."
"Think of a clown and then work your way back," the guys urge as they shove products at Schumer.
Schumer used the video to spark a social media movement that quickly went viral last night and this morning. Fans are tweeting no-makeup selfies with the hashtag #GirlYouDontNeedMakeup in a show of self-acceptance solidarity. Now, let's all hit snooze and get an extra hour of sleep. What more do I have to say (oh-oh-ohhhh)?
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